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Grounded: No flights from Marion to Vegas

BY JOHN D. HOMAN, The Southern

Friday, November 9, 2007 9:42 PM CST

MARION - Williamson County Regional Airport officials rolled the dice with Allegiant Air but have come up snake eyes in their quest to provide transportation to and from Las Vegas.

Allegiant Air announced Friday it would terminate service - before it ever began.

The airline was already booking trips and was scheduled to conduct flights Mondays and Fridays in February. Anyone who has made reservations will receive a full refund.

"This is certainly frustrating news," said Doug Kimmel, Williamson County Regional Airport manager. "We put forth a lot of effort to accommodate Allegiant. A lot of improvements were made."

Some of those improvements, he said, were an expanded parking lot and an expanded baggage claim area and holding room.

"It's about a $200,000 investment, but at least those improvements are in place for the next airline," Kimmel said.

Allegiant officials cited rising fuel costs as a key reason for the airline canceling its service to Williamson County and several other communities.

"Unfortunately, due to escalating fuel costs, we will not begin service from Marion to Las Vegas," Maurice J. Gallagher, Allegiant Air president and CEO, said. "We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers. We greatly appreciate the support the community and the airport's management team have shown us."

Friday also marked the final day of air service from Williamson County to Chicago courtesy of Mesa Airlines in Phoenix. Only air service to St. Louis remains. There are two flights a day through Great Lakes Airlines in Cheyenne, Wyo.

"If there is a silver lining, it's that an airline like Allegiant did have interest in us and someone else will again," Kimmel said.

john.homan@thesouthern.com

351-5805