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Mookie Patel, chief of business and finance for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airports, speaks about the Allegiant announcement at a press conference on Tuesday.
Economy airline Allegiant announced Tuesday that it will establish a new $75 million base at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's South Terminal, creating 89 jobs and housing three airplanes. It is scheduled to open in mid-November.
"It makes perfect sense to establish a permanent base in Austin, further establishing Allegiant as a hometown airline in a city we love and where we plan to grow," Senior Vice President of Revenue Drew Wells said in a statement. He added that the new base will allow for expanded hours and more flight options.
Unlike other airlines, Las Vegas-based Allegiant offers exclusively non-stop flights, meaning each day's schedule starts and ends at a base rather than connecting through hub airports. The forthcoming Austin base will bring added flexibility for flight times as well as allow locally-based crew members to return home each night.
Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who represents District 2, where the airport is located, welcomed the news as a needed boost at this stage of the pandemic, which has devastated the tourism industry. "The airport is an economic driver in our local economy, and I'm excited to see growth and activity in the district and beyond during such a critical time," she said in a statement.
Mookie Patel, chief of business and finance for the airport, echoed this sentiment. "Allegiant establishing Austin as a base provides strong economic support to Central Texas and even more convenient and affordable ways to travel," he said in a statement.
Allegiant began operating at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2013 with service from Austin to Las Vegas. Since then, the airline has expanded its offering to 14 nonstop routes, including to Orlando-Sanford, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; and Bozeman, Montana.
Allegiant is not the only airline expanding its local presence. American Airlines announced last month that it is adding 10 new flights to Austin. This growth is welcome news amid the economic impacts of the pandemic. Overall passenger activity at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was down nearly two-thirds year-over-year, according to the latest activity report.
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- Holiday travel drives long wait times, delays at Austin airport - austonia ›
- New changes coming to the Austin Airport in 2022 - austonia ›
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Popular
(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.