Flights from Bloomington-Normal to Las Vegas are coming this summer.
Central Illinois Regional Airport (CIRA) will add nonstop flights to Vegas with Frontier Airlines starting August 12. The flights are operated twice a week – Thursdays and Sundays. Introductory plans start at $ 49.
CIRA director Carl Olson said it was an “enormous” opportunity for the airport and for travelers.
“There is a lot of catching up to do to get out and enjoy life again. This is a good time and a good place to do it, ”Olson said Tuesday at the CIRA press conference and the good service we hope all of Central Illinois can come out and enjoy life again, starting at Central Regional Airport -Illinois.”
Las Vegas becomes the tenth non-stop destination offered by CIRA. Others are Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and Detroit. Olson said Florida destinations, including Destin, Orlando, and St. Pete, have proven popular as people make summer travel plans.
This is not the first time CIRA has offered flights to Las Vegas. Olson said the airport operated a route to Nevada in the early 2000s, adding that service ceased in 2008 when oil prices skyrocketed and airlines struggled to deal with high fuel prices.
Olson said that in addition to adding the Las Vegas route, the airport is picking up more flights to existing destinations.
“We’re seeing more and more seats coming back. For example, on our non-stop service to Detroit, Delta has just added two more weekly flights. We’re getting additional flights to Denver and additional frequencies to Florida, ”he said.
Olson said this is the result of more people willing to travel as pandemic restrictions are lifted. He said that the average passenger load ranges from the top 70% to the top 80%.
“Of course, like everyone else, we suffered in 2020. But the traffic is coming back, ”said Olson. “If we look at May of this year compared to May 2019 – because we somehow write off 2020 – traffic has only decreased by 24%.”
Olson said passenger traffic is mostly being driven by leisure travel, but CIRA is slowly seeing a recovery in business travel. He said the airport expects larger numbers of business travelers by late summer or early fall.
