United Leaving Atlantic City Airport After Just 7 Months
Just seven months after it began running flights to and from Atlantic City International Airport, United will cease serving the South Jersey airport. The airline has been flying daily to its two largest hubs, Chicago and Houston, since April 1st.
Service will cease in December.
The move comes just under a year after United CEO Jeff Smisek joined N.J. Gov. Chris Christie at ACY to cut the ribbon for a project that “will drive business, tourism and economic development throughout the southern part of the state” (in the words of Smisek).
“It speaks volumes that a company like United Airlines recognizes the full and future potential of Atlantic City International Airport,” Christie said in a statement last November. “The decision to bring air service to the seaside resort opens Atlantic City and ACY to the world while expanding travel service opportunities for the people of the South Jersey region.”
Once United pulls out, the airport will only be served by Spirit Airlines, a low-cost carrier.
Last year, Christie approved a takeover of the Atlantic City airport by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Port Authority runs the Newark, LaGuardia and JFK airports.
“There will be ups and downs in the process of reinvigorating Atlantic City, but we hope to work with air carriers on new opportunities,” a spokesman for Mr. Christie told the Wall Street Journal. United entered the Atlantic City market around the same time the Port Authority proposed an extension of the PATH train to Newark Liberty International Airport, where United carries almost 70 percent of passengers. The PATH extension plan appears to have fallen apart, per the Journal.
[WSJ]