Two milestones were reached Thursday morning at Lehigh Valley International Airport.<\/p>\n
The first was the inaugural nonstop flight from LVIA to Fort Myers, Florida, by Allegiant. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Gate 14 before the 130 passengers boarded for their journey to the warmer climate.<\/p>\n
However, this is also the 20th anniversary of Allegiant\u2019s first flight from the Lehigh Valley, and the start of a continuing upward trajectory.<\/p>\n
LVIA had a record-breaking number of passengers this summer, with almost 300,000 people using the airport between June and August<\/a>. In 2024, it surpassed 1 million passengers<\/a> for the first time since 2004.<\/p>\n Tom Stoudt, executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which operates the airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, said the increased traffic is a reason Allegiant has been adding destinations over the years.<\/p>\n He said about 60% of passengers at LVIA fly out on Allegiant, which goes to 11 of the airport\u2019s 15 nonstop destinations.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Dec. 16, 2005, they started service to Sanford [near Orlando, Florida], twice a week, and here we are now with 11 nonstop destinations, eight of them providing a lot of connectivity for this region to all sorts of leisure and vacation destinations,\u201d Stoudt said. \u201cIt\u2019s been incredible, and you see how much traffic continues to move through here at ABE.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s certainly thanks to all of our airline partners, but Allegiant continues to provide that connectivity, and people are always excited about point-to-point nonstop service and getting people to their vacation home, leisure destinations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The other three airlines that serve LVIA \u2014 \u201clegacy\u201d carriers American, Delta and United \u2014 are known for using the \u201chub and spoke\u201d system, according to Stoudt: They fly to hub airports such as Atlanta, Chicago or Charlotte, and passengers connect at those places to their final destinations.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Allegiant goes directly to nine Florida cities as well as Denver and Nashville, Tennessee.<\/p>\n Andrew Porrello, corporate communications manager for Las Vegas-based Allegiant, said the Lehigh Valley has embraced the airline\u2019s \u201cunique brand of service\u201d and the airport is a trusted partner because it continually advocates for affordable air travel and new routes.<\/p>\n