Blountville, TN- Allegiant Air announced today that it will end scheduled service between Fort Lauderdale and Tri-Cities, TN/VA;  Allentown, Penn; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Greensboro, NC; and Huntington, W.V. on September 7. Allegiant began operating the low-fare service from Tri-Cities Regional Airport on December 12, 2007.

"The flights to Fort Lauderdale were quite popular. We were averaging 94 percent loads," says Melissa Thomas, TCRA director of marketing and air service development. "This is an example of the effect of extremely high fuel costs. Even with the high load factors, the carrier couldn't make enough money from tickets to cover the additional cost of fuel."

Passengers with tickets for travel to Fort Lauderdale from Sept. 7 and beyond will be contacted by Allegiant for re-accommodation. Allegiant will continue operating non-stop, low fare service between Tri-Cities and Orlando Sanford.

"Although we are disappointed that Allegiant has decided to discontinue flights to Fort Lauderdale, we are pleased that direct service to Orlando Sanford will continue to be available to travelers in our region," said Patrick Wilson, TCRA executive director.

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