Allegiant opening new operations base in Florida

Allegiant is spending $49 million to open a new operations base at the airport in Destin, Florida, company executives said Tuesday.

The Las Vegas-based budget airline plans to hire 65 employees for the new base, which will house two Airbus jetliners, Allegiant executives said in a statement issued earlier this week. Destin-Fort Walton Beach will be the 14th year-round aircraft base for Allegiant after serving as a seasonal base for the company last summer.

Allegiant also announced five new routes scheduled to start in June between Destin and airports in: Bentonville, Arkansas; Concord, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina.

The announcement comes one week after Allegiant opened an operations base at Indianapolis International Airport in Indiana.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.