GREEN, Ohio — The Akron-Canton Airport announced Tuesday that Allegiant Airlines will begin servicing the airport in March with several nonstop flights to four southern destinations. 

What You Need To Know

  • Allegiant will begin offering four nonstop destinations out of Akron-Canton Airport starting in March

  • The airline is suspending service out of Cleveland starting in January

  • Allegiant left Akron-Canton Airport in 2016

  • The Akron-Canton Airport saw a steep decline in passengers even before the pandemic

Starting March 2, 2022, Allegiant will operate nonstop flights from Akron-Canton to Hilton Head/Savannah, Tampa/St. Pete, Sarasota/Bradenton and Fort Myers/Punta Gorda. 

Meanwhile, Allegiant will no longer book flights out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport after Jan. 3, 2022. 

Allegiant cited an expansion project at Cleveland Hopkins for its decision to leave the airport. 

"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."

This will not be the first time Allegiant has flown out of Akron-Canton. In 2015, Allegiant began offering flights from Akron-Canton to two destinations. While Allegiant grew its presence in its short time at Akron-Canton, the airline opted in late 2016 to move its operations in northeast Ohio to Cleveland Hopkins. 

The move allowed the airline to begin offering 10 nonstop destinations out of Cleveland Hopkins. 

Currently, American Airlines, Breeze Airways, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines operate out of the airport with 11 nonstop destinations between the airlines. 

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.

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