Climbing airport passenger boardings are prompting discount carrier Allegiant Air to consider nonstops between Chattanooga and Destin, Fla., next summer, officials said today.
Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport chief Terry Hart told Airport Authority members that Lovell Field officials are collecting data to send to Allegiant this week.
Allegiant, which already flies between Chattanooga and Sanford, Fla., and St. Petersburg, Fla., likely will decide this fall on whether to offer the expanded service to Destin, he said.
Allegiant offers nonstops to Destin from 15 cities, Hart said.
Through July, Allegiant passenger boardings from Lovell Field have grown by 4.8 percent over the same period a year ago, according to the airport.
The airport continued to show rapidly growing total boarding numbers for the year among all its carriers, up 19.23 percent through July over 2016, figures show.
The airport recorded total boardings through July of 271,528 passengers, according to figures.
See more in Tuesday's Times Free Press.