Allegiant Air to add flights to Columbus, Pittsburgh

NORFOLK — A year later than planned, Allegiant Air is adding nonstop flights from Norfolk to Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this summer.

The flights will begin on June 3 and operate twice weekly, according to a news release. The airline is offering $49 one-way introductory fares for the new routes if purchased by Jan. 13 and the flight is before Aug. 15. Tickets must be purchased through Allegiant.com.

The service from Norfolk International Airport takes travelers to Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus and Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh.

The Las Vegas-based airline came to Norfolk in October 2017 with low-cost flights to Florida and has since added cities, many via seasonal routes.

The airport released passenger numbers for December and all of 2020 Tuesday.

Norfolk International Airport passenger traffic was down 52% for December, compared to December 2019, according to a news release from the airport. The airport had 162,888 passengers, compared to 339,268 a year ago. Total passenger traffic in Norfolk for 2020 decreased 55.2%, with 1,785,135 compared to 2019, which had nearly 4 million passengers.

However, cargo shipped in and out of the airport increased 12.3% in December compared to December 2019. About 6.5 million pounds of cargo were shipped in and out of the airport last month. For the year, cargo shipments increased 3.7%, according to the airport for a total of about 66.8 million pounds, or about 2 million more pounds than 2019.