LVIA to lose Denver flights, but still seeing increased traffic

There’s good news and bad news coming out of Lehigh Valley International Airport.

Allegiant Air has announced that it will be suspending direct flights to Denver in November.

But Thomas Stoudt, executive director of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority said he is hopeful that it’s only a pause in service.

"Allegiant Air's current schedule at ABE does not include Denver as a non-stop destination during the upcoming winter months. However, the airline has not published their spring schedule, which may include the return of this popular nonstop service on a seasonal basis," said Stoudt.

Allegiant told Lehigh Valley business that it did consider it a seasonal hiatus, and that while Denver is a popular ski destination, Hector Mejia of Allegiant Media Relations said that Pennsylvanians love to spend time outdoors enjoying Denver in the warmer months.

“For competitive reasons, we can’t share future route plans but there’s always a possibility for this route to return in 2025,” he said.

Meanwhile Stoudt noted that with the busiest travel season ahead, Lehigh Valley International Airport is already experiencing a pre-summer surge in travel and passenger traffic is increasing.

In May, 85,243 passengers traveled through the airport. That’s a 16.5% increase from May 2023.

“Air travelers across the Lehigh Valley took advantage of a higher seat capacity in the market. Allegiant Air started nonstop service to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and American Airlines added more trips using Landline Bus Service to Philadelphia. Summertime is always very busy at ABE, and we anticipate that trend will hold true in the next few months,” said Stoudt.

Overall, Allegiant increased 31.7% and American passenger traffic jumped 16.8%. Meanwhile, Delta remained flat and United decreased 17% from last May.

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