Nonstop Tri-Cities flights to San Diego taking off this spring

Another nonstop flight coming to Tri-Cities will open options for Mid-Columbia travelers starting this spring.

Allegiant Airlines announced Tuesday that it will start a new nonstop route from Pasco to San Diego in late May.

The announcement comes as the air travel industry continues to struggle amid the COVID pandemic.

While a full recovery still is two or three years off, Tri-Cities Airport director Buck Taft told the Tri-City Herald, adding that business travelers are a critical part of that equation.

The return of a seasonal Minneapolis St. Paul route starting March 2 and the San Diego route that begins May 28 may be able to help boost those numbers. The San Diego route will have one flight each direction on Fridays and Mondays.

“As summer approaches, we expect a lot of pent-up demand for travel, especially for places where people can hike, fish, camp or visit the beach,” said Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of revenue.

June and July are the peak season for summer travel.

Travelers already have nonstop options from Tri-Cities to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Starting May 28, Allegiant flights will be offered on Fridays and Mondays.

The flight on Friday to San Diego will take off at 4 p.m. and land at 6:30 p.m. The flight to Pasco on Fridays will leave California at 6 p.m. and land at 8:30 p.m.

On Mondays, passengers will be able to catch a flight to San Diego at 4 p.m. and land at 6:30 p.m. The Monday flight to Tri-Cities leaves at 6 p.m. and lands at 8:30 p.m.

The Tri-Cities Airport saw a 57 percent drop in passengers last year.

The total number of travelers in and out of the airport for all of 2020 was about 378,000— a drop from nearly 871,000 the year before.

At the lowest point last April, the airport went from 1,200 people flying out of Pasco each day down to 50 to 100.

This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 12:56 PM.