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Airline: Dispute With Mesa Hub Should Have No Effect On Rockford Customers

A dispute between airline Allegiant Air and its airport hub in the Phoenix, Arizona metro area should have no impact on its service to the Chicago Rockford International Airport.  That’s according to a spokeswoman for the airline.

Allegiant Air currently provides direct service between Rockford and the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona several days a week.  The airline has publicly expressed differences with the airport over a potential subsidy to a rival carrier.  Now Allegiant is in negotiations with nearby Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to move its operations there.

Kim Schaeffer is Public Relations Manager for Allegiant. She says the airline’s Rockford customers shouldn’t worry.

“We don’t foresee any change in service to the Rockford airport at this time.  If there is a change from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to Sky Harbor we would absolutely be notifying passengers in advance so they would have that information.”

Schaeffer says, no matter what happens, the airline’s Rockford customers should see almost no difference.

The only change that would happen for Rockford passengers is they would just be landing at an airport right in the heart of Phoenix rather than the secondary airport.”

Schaeffer says, in any case, Allegiant has flights booked out of Mesa through at least mid-February of next year, and no changes would happen before then.  

Guy Stephens produces news stories for the station, and coordinates our online events calendar, PSAs and Arts Calendar announcements. In each of these ways, Guy helps keep our listening community informed about what's going on, whether on a national or local level. Guy's degrees are in music, and he spent a number of years as a classical host on WNIU. In fact, after nearly 20 years with Northern Public Radio, the best description of his job may be "other duties as required."