The request by Delta Airlines to suspend its service to Salt Lake City from the Santa Barbara Airport has received final approval from the Transportation Department.
The last flights will be on July 7, and the suspension will extend through Sept. 30, according to Deanne Zachrisson, the airport’s business development manager.
As Noozhawk rreported late last month, Delta was among 15 carriers nationwide to receive tentative approval for exemptions to maintaining minimal service at the airports they serve, which was required under the federal COVID-19 bailout know as the CARES Act.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Delta had been offering three daily flights between the two cities, but that had been pared back to a single flight each day.
Airline passenger counts at the Santa Barbara Airport, which cratered during the pandemic, are slowly rising, but remain far below last year’s record-setting levels.
In a bit of good news, Alaska Airlines will be resuming its daily service to Portland next month, Zachrisson told Noozhawk. The flight will depart at 2:40 p.m., she said.
Santa Barbara previously has seen other reductions in commercial flight schedules.
Contour Airlines, which was flying small regional jets between Santa Barbara and Oakland, Sacramento and Las Vegas, halted its local service at the end of March.
United Airlines discontinued its flights to LAX from Santa Barbara, but has maintained service to Denver and San Francisco.
There has been no indication when those flights might resume.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.