Major airline to stop servicing Wichita airport, citing shortage of planes

Frontier Airlines is discontinuing service at Wichita’s Eisenhower National Airport, the city announced Friday.

Frontier, which entered the Wichita market in 2018, had previously indicated that it would resume flights from Wichita to Las Vegas on April 1.

“Frontier stated that the decision follows a shortage of aircraft, and they hope to eventually bring service back to Wichita,” the city release states.

“We certainly are disappointed that Frontier is leaving, especially now that passenger demand is increasing and more seats are needed,” said Valerie Wise of the Wichita Airport Authority.

Frontier began service to Denver in August 2018 but ceased flights last September due to an abundance of capacity. Frontier’s Wichita flights to Vegas began in March 2021 but suffered a similar fate.

“The performance to the Vegas market was just not what they needed,” Wise said. “They had a Monday departure at 11:30 at night, which of course didn’t do well. Friday departure did fine, but they were going up against Southwest and Allegiant, so it was a bit too much competition.”

Wise said there are “certainly opportunities” for Frontier to re-enter the Wichita market.

“We have some very underserved markets and we know from past experience that when we get a new nonstop destination, it’s very well-supported,” Wise said.

She said January and February are usually slow months for air travel, but numbers were up from last year.

“Spring break has been strong, and by all indications, we expect a strong summer travel season,” Wise said.

Eisenhower Airport will still be serviced by six airlines: Alaska, American, Allegiant, Delta, Southwest and United.