Airport News
Spirit Airlines ramps back up nonstop flights out of Houston airport
With COVID-19 shutdowns starting to be lifted, Florida-based discount carrier Spirit Airlines is restarting the engines on 13 nonstop routes out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport, including Atlanta, Chicago, and Cancun.
The airline had shut down flights due to the pandemic, although they were still doing a few flights out of IAH. A spokesman says that the demand just was not there.
"May was our low point across our network," the spokesman says. "All airlines needed to significantly shrink capacity by about 90 percent."
How about a chart showing the average scheduled Spirit flights per day at IAH from May-July 2020:
- May: 1
- June: 5
- July: 20
The airline is starting to "stair step" flight resumptions. Houston will see multiple route resumptions in both June and July. Also, in July they're adding substantial frequencies (number of flights between airports) that will drive up the average daily flight figure from 5 to 20.
Flights added in June include:
- Atlanta (ATL) – June 12
- Baltimore-Washington (BWI) – June 25
- Cancun (CUN) - June 26
- Newark (EWR) – June 25
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) – June 11
- Los Angeles (LAX) – June 10
- Orlando (MCO) – June 10
- Tampa (TPA) – June 25
Flights resuming in July include:
- Denver (DEN)
- Detroit (DTW)
- New Orleans (MSY)
- Oakland (OAK)
- San Diego (SAN)
- Los Cabos (SJD)
While this is a restart, there's still a long way to go. These flights put the airline at approximately 25 percent of what their capacity was pre-COVID-19.
The airline requires face coverings for passengers and employees, and has a complete list of precautions on its website.
