Allegiant Airlines has permanently canceled its flights in and out of Redmond Airport, leaving passengers without any access to direct flights to Las Vegas, according to an announcement made on Wednesday.

Initially the Las-Vegas-based airline had suspended its route from Redmond to Las Vegas and Mesa, Arizona, airports in May through October, citing seasonality. The routes had started in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

“Due to dynamic market conditions, including the staffing shortage that’s impacting the commercial aviation industry, we made the difficult decision to suspend service at Redmond,” said Rachel Christiansen, Allegiant media relations. “We did it so far in advance of October to minimize the impact on our customers and give them time to make other arrangements for their travel.”

Zach Bass, Redmond Airport director, said the decision was not unexpected. Allegiant had previously flown to Redmond in 2012.

“They have been back and forth on when they’d be coming back,” Bass said. “They have come and gone a couple of times. It means currently that we have no direct service to Las Vegas now. We’re working with other airlines to fill the spot from Vegas.”

The decision to pull out of the Redmond market shouldn’t affect summer travel into Central Oregon all that much as the bulk of the visitors arrive by car.

In the meantime, Visit Central Oregon, the marketing agency for the region, will work with the Central Oregon Air Service Committee, which is made up of representatives from the airport, the Economic Development for Central Oregon, Visit Bend, Visit Central Oregon, and the Redmond and Bend chambers of commerce. The goal is to expand air capacity to Central Oregon, said Julia Theisen, Visit Central Oregon CEO.

“We will work with other airline partners for potential service to Las Vegas as well as attracting new markets,” Theisen said.

Allegiant’s business model focuses on leisure travel connecting small to medium-sized cities, flying all nonstop routes, said Christiansen.

“Each city is unique and has its own season,” Christiansen said. “Our network planners are constantly assessing demand and market conditions and making adjustments when necessary.”

In June, Redmond Airport added a third Transportation Security Administration screening line and additional parking.

In 2019, aha! ExpressJet Airlines and Avelo added direct flights from Redmond, which eliminates the need for travelers to make connections in crowded airport hubs or make long drives to larger airports. In addition to the two startup airlines, legacy carriers like American, Delta, United and Alaska fly to Redmond.