Allegiant to trim flights at Rickenbacker temporarily

Discount airline Allegiant will temporarily throttle back its growth at Rickenbacker Airport in the first few months of next year as it transitions to new aircraft.

Allegiant flights to Austin and New Orleans will be suspended in early 2019, with normal operations expected to resume in mid-May. Angie Tabor, spokeswoman for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, said Allegiant flights will be cut by 25 percent during the first quarter, with smaller declines of 10 to 15 percent expected to be ongoing “in some summer/ fall weeks” next year.

According to data released ahead of the airport authority’s Tuesday board meeting, Allegiant had carried 20 percent more passengers this year through September than in the same period of last year, totaling more than 250,000. Its other destinations from Columbus include Fort Lauderdale, Tampa/St. Petersburg and Myrtle Beach.

The airport authority said flight adjustments are being made by Allegiant around the country as it “continues to transition its fleet to newer aircraft on an accelerated schedule.”

Allegiant spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said the airline is transitioning to an all-Airbus fleet. “Having a single fleet type will increase efficiencies across our entire operation, from training and scheduling to maintenance,” Grey said.

Allegiant has been the subject of critical media reports, including a “60 Minutes” segment earlier this year, about maintenance issues with its planes. The airline has said it has addressed all such issues and is subject, as are all airlines, to ongoing oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Meanwhile, passenger traffic at John Glenn Columbus International Airport continued to trend up in September, rising 7.2 percent from a year earlier. In the first nine months of the year, passenger traffic was up 7.1 percent; the airport’s 6 million passengers through September kept it on track for its busiest year ever.

Hurricane Michael, which hit the Southeast this month, might take a small bite out of October’s passenger total. The airport authority said 30 flights were canceled and about 100 were delayed as a result of storm-related conditions the airlines dealt with.