No flights to Delaware: The First State becomes the only state without commercial air service
Delaware will soon be the only state in the U.S. without scheduled commercial airline service.
Frontier Airlines plans to end its service between New Castle Airport (ILG) in near Wilmington in Delaware and Orlando (MCO) after June 6, the Delaware News Journal first reported.
"We are continually evaluating our routes and ILG will certainly remain in the consideration set for potential service in the future," Frontier spokesperson Jennifer De La Cruz told TPG in a statement.
"Unfortunately, sufficient demand did not materialize to support the service and the final flight between Wilmington and Orlando is scheduled on June 6, 2022," she added. "We are continually evaluating our routes and ILG will certainly remain in the consideration set for potential service in the future."
The Frontier service was short-lived: Frontier first announced the route in January 2020, scheduled to begin that May, although the launch was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Service eventually began in February 2021, according to Cirium data.
This marks the second time that Frontier has cut service from Delaware. The airline previously flew from Wilmington to Orlando and Tampa, before ending service in April 2015, according to Cirium. The Delaware airport did not see any commercial service again until Frontier's 2021 return.
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The airport typically services charter flights and general aviation aircraft, although the Frontier service, which saw the airport have more than 10,000 boardings in 2021, according to the Journal, led to increased federal funding with the airport designated as a "primary commercial service airport" instead of a "general aviation reliever airport."
With Frontier's service, Wilmington appeared to serve primarily as an originating airport, with passengers flying down to Florida. Local residents will now need to drive or take Amtrak to nearby Baltimore (BWI) or Philadelphia (PHL) to find commercial air service.
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