Allegiant Air expands at CLE, leaving Youngstown behind

THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER – Allegiant Air, the lone commercial carrier flying from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, will end service to the Trumbull County facility on January 4, 2018.

The announcement comes six months after the airline started flying from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, 70 miles away.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant, known for its low fares to leisure destinations, has flown from Youngstown since 2006. It currently flies to three destinations: Sanford/Orlando and St. Petersburg/Clearwater in Florida and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Krysta Levy, a spokeswoman for Allegiant, cited declining passenger numbers for the decision to stop service.

“Demand in the area was simply not high enough to continue service at this time,” said an airline statement. “Any passengers that have booked travel in or out of Youngstown after that date will be reached out to individually to be refunded or reaccommodated.”

The Youngstown-Warren airport, in Vienna Township, is located equidistant between Cleveland Hopkins and Pittsburgh International Airport, where Allegiant also has extensive service.

In years past, penny-pinching Clevelanders were known to drive to the Youngstown airport to catch cheap flights to Florida. That traffic has likely dried up as Allegiant expanded elsewhere in Northeast Ohio.

Allegiant flies to 10 destinations from Cleveland, including Austin (AUS), Orlando/Sanford/Daytona Beach (SFB), Destin-Fort Walton (VPS), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Jacksonville (JAX), Myrtle Beach (MYR), New Orleans (MSY), Punta Gorda/Fort Myers (PGD), Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV), and Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg (PIE). Prior to launching in Cleveland in February, Allegiant offered service for nearly two years at the Akron-Canton Airport.

Officials with the Youngstown-Warren airport declined to comment for this story.

via – Allegiant Air pulling out of Youngstown airport following expansion at Cleveland Hopkins