Low-cost airline shutting down entire West Coast operations

(KTLA) – One of Hollywood Burbank Airport’s major airline partners is set for departure.

On Monday, budget airline Avelo announced it would be shuttering its Southern California base, moving its planes to various hubs across the country and offering its California-based staff the opportunity to transfer elsewhere.

For more than four years, Avelo has been operating out of the Burbank airport, establishing it as its West Coast base. The airline launched under its current brand name during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, a move that was deemed risky at the time by some industry analysts.

The ultra-low-cost carrier quickly expanded operations in Burbank, adding flights to various parts of Northern California, Oregon and, briefly, Montana.

In 2023, the airline celebrated flying its 1 millionth passenger, and even described its Burbank flights as being among its most successful offerings, accounting for one-third of its total customers at the time.

But airline officials say the company has been hit hard with new financial challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to provide service to its West Coast destinations.

On Monday, CEO Andrew Levy confirmed that Avelo would be reducing its number of planes flying out of Los Angeles County to one by mid-August, before shutting the base down entirely on Dec. 2, 2025. That closure will coincide with Avelo ceasing all West Coast operations, company officials confirmed.

Levy described the decision as a difficult one, adding that there’s no singular reason for Avelo ceasing operations with one of its longest airport partners.

“We believe the continuation of service from [Hollywood Burbank Airport] in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop,” he said.

Avelo will relocate its current Burbank fleet to different locations where Levy says the company sees more “efficient longer-term growth prospects,” as it attempts to build out its East Coast operation.

All California-based employees will be given the opportunity to transfer to another Avelo base, Levy said, all of which are on the Eastern Seaboard, including Hartford, Connecticut; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Wilmington, Delaware.

Passengers with existing flights can cancel their trips online and receive a refund.

In addition to flying ticket-purchasing passengers out of Los Angeles County, Avelo also received backlash and calls for boycott after it was announced that the airline had partnered with the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide charter flights to assist with its deportation efforts. Those flights were specifically operated out of the Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona, but a push for a company boycott was widespread on social media.

A spokesperson for the company denied that the decision to close its Burbank base was related to its charter program in Arizona, and said the company had invested “significant time, resources and efforts” that have not produced “results necessary” to continue its West Coast presence.

Request for comment from the Hollywood Burbank Airport regarding the news was directed back to Avelo.