Rio Grande Valley residents who enjoy traveling to the Sunshine State will soon be able to take advantage of new nonstop flights to Florida starting this summer.
In June, Allegiant Air will begin offering direct flights from McAllen International Airport to Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida, local officials announced in a news release Wednesday.
The new nonstop flights will be the fifth such route that the budget airline offers to connect McAllen to beloved tourist destinations, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando.
“This new Allegiant route is just another win for McAllen and our entire region. We are proud to see that our airline partners have confidence in our market and continue to choose McAllen International Airport for expansion,” McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos stated.
The Tampa flights also mark the third major offering to take flight at the airport in 2024.
This month, Mexican airline Aeromexico began offering daily nonstop flights from McAllen to Mexico City. And in late-April, Delta Air Lines will begin flying three daily nonstop routes to the state capital’s Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
McAllen City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez spoke of all the new flight options that have come to the city-owned airport this year.
“McAllen is the epicenter of the Rio Grande Valley… With three new nonstop air service announcements in 2024, the McAllen International Airport has gone above and beyond to connect our community to new travel opportunities and improve our overall quality of life,” Rodriguez said.
In addition to Allegiant, Delta and Aeromexico, McAllen International Airport partners with American Airlines and United to offer direct routes to Dallas and Houston.
The airport saw more than 964,000 passengers in 2023. It also serves nearly half of all commercial air traffic — 45% — in the Valley.
Allegiant’s first flight to Tampa will take off on June 14, with tickets starting at just $59, according to the news release.
