Allegiant Air adds $49 flights to Charleston International out of MidAmerica Airport

MidAmerica Airport will begin offering passenger flights to South Carolina in May as part of an Allegiant Air expansion plan.

Allegiant announced Tuesday a new nonstop route to Charleston, South Carolina’s Charleston International Airport will begin May 28. The announcement came as part of a 21-route expansion of Allegiant’s network of flights.

The route, according to a press release, will operate twice a week. Allegiant said it will offer one-way fares from the metro-east to Charleston for as low as $49.

Flight days, times and fares can be found at Allegiant.com.

The airport also offers direct flights to other airports in Florida, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Arizona. It’s most recent addition was Savannah, Georgia’s Hilton Head International Airport.

“MidAmerica is excited to welcome the new route to Charleston, S.C., and thanks to the safe, hassle-free experience MidAmerica delivers for our passengers, we are confident that this new non-stop route will be as popular as the other great destinations we serve,” said St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern. “This latest expansion of service by Allegiant reinforces that our airport is a wonderful partner, providing an extremely cost-effective way for airlines such as Allegiant to grow their business.”

Airport Director Bryan Johnson said MidAmerica is one of the few airports in the country that offered more seats in 2020 than it did in 2019, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This past fall, MidAmerica was just one of just a handful of airports in the country to have more airline seats for sale than it did in 2019, despite the challenges the industry faced,” Johnson said. “The strong demand for flights from this region will support this new route as travelers continue to take advantage of the benefits of flying through MidAmerica.”

Johnson was named airport director in 2020 to replace outgoing Director Tim Cantwell, who retired after running the airport for 17 years.

Johnson said the coming year’s plan is to focus on adding more flights to MidAmerica’s roster while focusing on bringing more business to the airport.

The airport recently entered into the early stages of a project to possibly expand Boeing’s presence at the airport.

The new development is one of the ongoing projects at the airport, which in September received a $6.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to expand its terminal by more than 41,000 square feet.

A MetroLink extension from the Shiloh-Scott Station to MidAmerica is also in the works, funded by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan. Roughly $96 million has been set aside for the project.

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