Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines will suspend flights out of Northern Colorado Regional Airport to Burbank, CA. and Las Vegas, NV.
The carrier said the service suspension was due to rising fuel and other operational costs, according to a statement from the City of Loveland.
Flights to and from Las Vegas will be suspended on June 16. Burbank flights will be suspended on June 24. Passengers who purchased tickets for trips scheduled after those dates will be eligible for refunds.
“While we recognize that airlines must make difficult choices, this news is disappointing to us and we know that it is also disappointing to those who choose to fly FNL. Flights from FNL to Burbank and Las Vegas continue to be very popular, proving that local passengers desire commercial air service from our location,” Northern Colorado Regional Airport Director Jason Licon said in a statement.
The airline began service to Northern Colorado on Oct. 6 2021. It was the first time in five years that commercial flights took off from Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
Some 180 passengers flew to Burbank that day, as local officials gathered to celebrate the takeoff. Before then, Allegiant Airlines operated some commercial flights out of the airport, but stopped service in 2012 due to the airport’s limited air traffic control capacity.
Officials worked to make upgrades to the airport’s remote air traffic control tower.
Avelo said in a March 28 statement that, in its first 100 days of service, some 6,000 passengers had flown to Las Vegas out of Northern Colorado.
Despite the suspension, the airport will look for more ways to bring commercial air service back to the growing region, Licon said. A terminal expansion project is scheduled to break ground next year.
“We recognize that northern Colorado travelers are looking for convenience and value and want the public to know that we will continue to seek this from other potential service providers,” Licon said.
CPR News reporter Matt Bloom contributed to this report.
