AUSTIN, Texas — We usually hear about all the growth that is happening at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. But one thing there is shrinking: the number of nonstop routes into and out of ABIA over the last year.
There are 19 fewer nonstop routes this year because two budget airlines had a reduction in routes: Via Air and Frontier.
ABIA has seen record-breaking growth year-to-year.
Bryce Dubee, the public information officer for the airport, said that, in June, they had 1.6 million passengers come through. That's double-digit growth from June 2018 to June 2019, according to Dubee.
One of the main reasons for the airport's reduction in routes is Via Air's departure from the airport. “Eight routes" left the airport, Dubee said.
ABIA said the airline left because it wasn't making payments to the airport. Via Air owes the airport about $40,000.
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Frontier Airlines stopped nine of its nonstop routes.
“Frontier came last year and added a bunch of new routes out of Austin-Bergstrom through a bunch of different locations,” Dubee said. “Seeing what markets were out there and kind of experimenting what was going to be a good opportunity for them.”
ABIA said that late last year, Frontier moved to the south terminal and discontinued some routes.
Allegiant Air discontinued two nonstops.
The discontinued flights across all airlines include these cities:
- Louisville
- Milwaukee
- Omaha
- Providence
- Reno
- Buffalo
- Charleston
- Columbus
- Jacksonville
- Amarillo
- Branson
- Baton Rogue
- Little Rock
- Steamboat Springs
- Tulsa
- Tucson
- Oklahoma City
- St. Pete-Clearwater
- Columbus
Dubee said it's not uncommon for airports to experiment with different routes and see what the market is interested in.
“It's one of those things that doesn't necessarily come as a surprise, per se,” he added.
Looking ahead, ABIA said it will be adding more gates in the next few months. This is part of its nine-gate expansion project.
ABIA is also working on its 2040 Master Plan, to double the size of the airport in the next several years.
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