Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced Wednesday that they will end service from Akron-Canton airport later this year.
The airport said Wednesday that they have decided to no longer offer service after June 2. The reduction will impact Southwest's only remaining route from Akron-Canton to Atlanta.
The airport issued a statement saying:
While this is disappointing news, the reduction will not limit access to this key market, as Delta continues to offer customers nonstop, daily flights from CAK to Atlanta and beyond. CAK will also continue to offer nonstop service to 13 destinations and one-stop access to the globe aboard American, Delta, Spirit and United.
With the reduction, we project that available seat capacity will remain flat year over year. All other airlines remain strong partners at CAK, offering customers great fares, exceptional service and easy connections.
We will continue to position the airport with affordable costs, exceptional customer service, and award-winning marketing support to increase capacity for our community.
In a statement, Southwest said they "no longer see a local, sustainable travel demand to support their service." It goes on to say:
Southwest will cease operations in Akron-Canton at the end of our current flight schedule, on June 3, 2017. The decision to leave a community is never easy, and is never made quickly. After more than five years of serving Akron-Canton, we no longer see a local, sustainable travel demand to support our service. We must utilize our resources to serve communities and markets that align with long-term business plans. Our main focus right now is on our Employees who are impacted. We are supporting them as they make decisions regarding new opportunities within the company. We truly appreciate the support of Akron-Canton communities. We will have no other service changes for our Northeast Ohio Customers using CAK through June 3, 2017.
Spokesman Dan Landson also said that all Southwest employees are being offered positions throughout the company.
The carrier also announced plans to begin daily service June 4 to Baltimore-Washington and Chicago Midway out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky.
Meanwhile, it will end service after June 3 at Dayton International Airport, where Southwest has daily Dayton-Chicago Midway flights.
