Allegiant Air Adds Thirty Seasonal Routes to Florida as Carriers Respond to Spirit Shutdown Layoffs

Allegiant Air will add thirty new and returning seasonal routes to Florida, with many serving Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Usa Today reported that eight of the routes are new for the Las Vegas-based carrier and are largely scheduled to begin in the latter half of 2026. The airline is moving to fill service gaps after Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down operations.

A WARN notice received by the state on May 4 showed that 2,529 employees at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and 181 employees at Miami International Airport were affected by layoffs that began May 2. The closures affected a total of 4,057 employees across Florida. Specific new routes from Fort Lauderdale include three weekly flights to Boston starting Oct.

1, two weekly flights each to Kansas City and Omaha starting Oct. 2. Seasonal returns include two weekly flights to Rochester starting Oct. 8 and two weekly flights to Sioux Falls starting Nov.

20. Allegiant will also operate flights from Palm Beach International Airport to Grand Rapids starting Oct. 1. "We're excited to announce these new routes and believe it is an important time for Allegiant to increase travel options in these markets," said Drew Wells, Allegiant's chief commercial officer, in a May 19 release.

Other carriers are also expanding at Fort Lauderdale. American Airlines will add an additional daily flight to Chicago O'Hare starting Sept. 9 and two additional daily flights to Philadelphia after Oct.

5. Avianca will add an additional daily flight to Bogotá starting June 1. JetBlue is expanding service to about 18 other cities from the airport. Breeze, Delta, Frontier and Southwest are adding flights to other Florida airports including Orlando and Miami.