Allegiant Air (G4, Las Vegas Harry Reid) has announced it will open its base at Des Moines, Iowa, on July 1, 2021, more than a year later than originally planned due to COVID-19.

The low-cost carrier in a statement said it would invest USD50 million in the base and station two of its A320-200s and 66 employees at the airport, including pilots, flight attendants, fleet mechanics, and ground crew. Having locally-based aircraft and crews would open up a wider range of options for new routes and more flexible frequencies, the airline said.

The company began service at Des Moines in 2003. It currently offers 10 non-stop routes from the airport to Orlando Sanford; St. Petersburg/Clearwater; Punta Gorda, FL; Destin-Fort Walton Beach; Sarasota/Bradenton; Nashville International; Phoenix Williams Gateway; Austin-Bergstrom International; Los Angeles International; and Las Vegas Harry Reid.

Des Moines will be Allegiant’s 20th operational base. The carrier’s initial plans to open it in May 2020 were scuppered by the pandemic, as were its plans to add routes from Des Moines to Chicago Midway and Memphis International, Tennessee, although it did launch routes to Nashville and Austin.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Allegiant operates a fleet of 107 aircraft, including sixty-nine A320-200s (all except ten owned); and thirty-eight owned A319-100s.

Des Moines International Airport recorded a throughput of 1,295,685 passengers in 2020, a drop-off of almost 56% from 2019, and its smallest traffic volume since 1984, the airport said.