This story was updated to reflect new information from ABIA that shows up to a dozen Allegiant flights will be affected.
Austin travelers flying Allegiant Air will have fewer options by January when the ultra-low-cost carrier closes a $75 million operations base at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that opened less than three years ago.
Unlike planes for other airlines, Allegiant aircraft return each night to their bases. The Austin base has storage for three Airbus planes and space for employees to rest and prepare for flights. This "out-and-back" network reduces costs because the airline doesn't have to pay for crew members' hotel stays.
When Allegiant closes its ABIA base on Jan. 7, flights from Austin will travel only to cities with an Allegiant base. The airline offers only nonstop flights. By August, the airline plans to discontinue service to a dozen destinations from Austin, according to an airport spokesperson. Those cities are:
- Bozeman, Montana
- Eugene, Oregon
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Dulles, Virginia
- Indianapolis
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Pittsburgh
- San Diego
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Sanford, Florida
- Santa Ana, California
- Las Vegas (temporarily suspended)
ABIA says only Allegiant can confirm when each route is being dropped and whether it is a permanent or seasonal cut. The airline has not responded to multiple requests for comments over the past week.
"It’s not unusual for Allegiant to take seasonal breaks so it’s possible, and we’re certainly hoping, some of these will return for Spring or Summer 2025," ABIA spokesperson Sam Haynes said in an email.
Meanwhile, the city's aviation department will try to convince Allegiant to expand its reach from Austin.
"We're hoping to backfill some of those seats with other carriers and encourage Allegiant to fly to other Allegiant bases that they currently don't fly to [from] Austin," ABIA business development director Jamy Kazanoff said, estimating there are about 15 such destinations.
Allegiant plans to continue flying to cities including:
- Cincinnati
- Provo, Utah
- Anaheim, California
- Orlando, Florida
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Sarasota, Florida
Right now, Austin's airport provides nonstop service to 91 destinations with an average of 266 daily departures.
Allegiant is shuttering its Austin base because of the city's decision to tear down the South Terminal where the airline and its ultra-low-cost competitor Frontier operate. The three-gate facility has fewer frills than the main Barbara Jordan Terminal and charges significantly lower fees to Allegiant and Frontier.
But the South Terminal is in the path of a long-planned airport expansion intended to alleviate overcrowding at ABIA. The airport was designed for 15 million annual passengers and is now handling more than 20 million.
A centerpiece of the multibillion-dollar expansion program is a new concourse connected to the Barbara Jordan Terminal by underground walkway. Concourse B, a temporary name for the facility, would have at least 20 gates and possibly up to 30 when it opens around 2030. The plan includes more than 2 miles of additional taxiways for planes to navigate around Concourse B.
The City of Austin took over operations of the South Terminal in November after paying an $88 million legal settlement to force out a company that had signed a 30-year lease agreement in 2016.
Airport officials have said they plan to keep the South Terminal open until shortly before it will be demolished in early 2026.
