GREEN, Ohio — Allegiant flights are resuming out of Akron-Canton Airport after a six-year absence.
Starting Wednesday, Allegiant is servicing Akron-Canton Airport with four nonstop destinations to southern destinations. This comes after Allegiant pulled flights from Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport earlier this year.
Allegiant is operating flights from Akron-Canton to Savannah, Georgia, St. Petersburg, Florida, Sarasota, Florida and Punta Gorda, Florida. Allegiant says one-way flights to St. Petersburg and Punta Gorda start at $33, however return flights could be more expensive, according to the airline’s booking page.
Allegiant announced in October plans to pull flights from Cleveland and use Akron-Canton as its northeast Ohio hub.
“While our flights were very successful in the Cleveland market, the airport’s construction project and planned expansion made the cost structure prohibitive for us to continue our operation there,” the airline said in a statement. “However, demand for service in the Northeast Ohio community remains high. Akron-Canton Airport provided us with an ideal option to continue serving the market. Their low-cost structure allows us to keep our operating costs low, and we’re able to pass those savings on to our customers in the form of affordable fares, which is the hallmark of Allegiant’s business model.”
The Canton-Akron Airport has seen sagging passenger numbers in recent years. In 2012, the airport welcomed more than 1.8 million passengers, according to airport data. By 2019, only 813,976 passengers flew in or out of the airport.
The pandemic caused a jolt to traffic across the industry as Akron-Canton Airport had just 291,657 passengers in 2020, according to airport data. In 2021, the airport reported 331,607 passengers.
