Late last year, the Boise Airport finally landed something long on its wish list: A new flight to a key eastern timezone destination.
Now, in the wake of COVID-19, the plans changed.
Delta Airlines planned to fly nonstop from the Boise Airport to Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport starting July 6th. But the flight disappeared from Delta’s online fare tool.
Boise Airport Marketing & Air Service Development Manager Sean Briggs confirmed the change.
“At this point in time, Delate indicated they don’t plan on operating Atlanta service in 2020, and would reevaluate in 2021,” he said. “We had a conversation with them, and they indicated with uncertainty and the economic environment, that route would not be operated.”
Everett flight scuttled
Briggs told BoiseDev that another planned flight will not start as planned, either.
Alaska Airlines said earlier this year it would add service between Boise and Everett’s Payne Field. The new flight would give passengers in the Seattle-area a new option to travel straight to the north side of the once-congested Puget Sound region.
Briggs said Alaska pulled back on this flight “for now” due to marketing conditions.
Other destinations temporarily suspended
Briggs said airlines temporarily suspended several other destinations. The airport currently does not offer nonstop service to Minneapolis, Houston or Spokane. Briggs characterized those changes due to the current overall lack of travel buffeting the airline industry.
“As you can imagine, airlines are making schedule changes left and right,” he said.
Airport officials long sought a destination in the eastern region of the country to open up more air service. The Atlanta airport is traditionally the world’s busiest airport, and connects with more than 300 destinations around the globe.
Airport officials cancelled a new parking garage set to start this month – and put an overall pause on an expansion plan.
