Lakeland Linder International Airport officials hope to offer commercial passenger flights operated by Avelo Airlines by the summer.
Lakeland commissioners will be asked to approve an operating agreement between the ultra-low-cost carrier and Lakeland Linder at their Dec. 18 meeting. If approved, it would be the first commercial airline to operate out of the municipal-owned airport in over a decade.
“Our airport has been waiting for a long time to welcome air service back to Lakeland,” Airport Director Kris Hallstrand said.
Avelo, which is pronounced so it rhymes with yellow, is a low-cost carrier based out of Houston that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021. It has rapidly grown to serve more than 40 U.S. destinations and recently launched its first international flights to Puerto Rico, as reported by Forbes.
Hallstrand said the carrier primarily focuses on providing flights to secondary markets, or smaller urban cities. Some of its main hubs are in Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Burbank Airport.
“We think this is a great opportunity for our community and for the airport to be able to provide service to some of our folks in the local area,” she said.