Asheville Regional Airport: Delta to launch seasonal flights to Detroit in 2019

ASHEVILLE — Delta Air Lines plans to add nonstop, seasonal flights to Detroit from Asheville Regional Airport starting this summer, airport officials said Wednesday.

Nonstop service from Asheville to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is expected to begin in early June. It is planned to run on Saturdays between June 8 and Nov. 2, the second local seasonal route offered by Delta in the recent past, including New York's LaGuardia Airport. Delta offers up to eight daily flights to and from Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport from Asheville.

Lew Bleiweis, the airport's executive director, said the Saturday flights to the Motor City are "an excellent addition to the connectivity offered by Delta at AVL."

"We know that Detroit will be a successful route for Delta," Bleiweis said. "We are thrilled that Delta is devoting resources to serve the route on a seasonal basis, and encourage our region's travelers to book travel to and through Detroit."

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Once the route begins, Saturday departures from Detroit will be at 10:30 a.m. with plans to reach Asheville by 12:30 p.m. Departures from Asheville begin at 1 p.m. with arrivals scheduled for 3 p.m.

Asheville's airport continues to experience growth with the addition of new flights. Last month, American Airlines announced a new daily flight to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from Asheville beginning in May, the company's third new route in the community added in the past year.

In large part due to a series of new routes, the airport served the most passengers in its history a year ago, some 1.13 million passengers across its six airlines.