Leah Buletti

lbuletti@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE - Allegiant Air has announced people will soon be able to fly directly to the Washington, D.C., area from Asheville.

One-way fares from Asheville Regional Airport to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will be as low as $39, the airport said in a news release.

The seasonal flights will operate twice weekly beginning May 19 through Aug. 16.

Airport spokeswoman Tina Kinsey said she thinks the service will be well-used and represents an "excellent addition."

"We have been advocating for the D.C. area for many years," she said. "We have a very strong number of people from Western North Carolina who fly to that area."

Allegiant, a low-cost Nevada-based carrier that has operated from Asheville Airport since 2011, focuses on point-to-point service.

"We feel very strongly that this will be a successful route for them," Kinsey said, adding officials are anticipating high traffic in both directions during the seasonal timeframe.

Shortly before Thanksgiving, the airport opened up a new 240-space parking lot. The addition of the parking lot brings the total number of passenger and visitor parking spaces at the airport to 1,720.

The airport set a record for passenger travel during fiscal year 2015. More than 400,000 people boarded commercial flights at the airport, a 9 percent increase over the prior year.

On Tuesday, Allegiant announced 19 new routes from three airports, including Washington/Baltimore. The other new cities are Destin, Florida, and El Paso, Texas. The service will include nonstop flights to BWI from Savannah, Georgia; Cincinnati, Ohio; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Asheville; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Lexington, Kentucky.

For more details on fares, visit Allegiant.com.

Adding more routes remains priority for Asheville airport

Asheville airport opens temporary runway



