From the City of Del Rio
Del Rio, Texas – The City of Del Rio has been notified, without warning by American Airlines that the airline will cease service to Del Rio on April 3, 2023. A spokesperson for the airline mentioned that the airline is having regional issues and is showing overall low stability in regional markets. Reduction of routes to regional destinations has been a trend in the airline industry. Shortage of pilots is the main driver of those changes.
Mayor Al Arreola spoke with the government affairs office at American Airlines this morning after receiving this unexpected news. “We were all completely shocked after receiving this news. I asked American Airlines, ‘What can the City of Del Rio, Val Verde County and our citizens do to keep you here?’ and it was an obvious response that this was a corporate decision” stated Mayor Arreola. “Right now, we have reached out to our state senator and are working with our lobbyist group to keep the airline here. We are going to try our hardest to keep working with American to encourage them to stay.”
Airport Manager, Juan Carlos Onofre is confident that other operations will continue at the airport. “The airport will continue its other operations (cargo, airmail, charter, private flights, border security, public safety, pilot training support), without interruption and all our security measures in place for when the time is right for the return of a major airline to connect us either to Dallas or Houston. We will also explore other options to destinations like Austin or San Antonio,” stated Onofre.
“American Airlines ceasing services to Del Rio International Airport is certainly frustrating and disappointing, especially since we’ve been at or near capacity on most American flights in and out of Del Rio,” stated City Manager John Sheedy. “For the last 4 years, American Airlines has provided an excellent service and has made travel to and from our relatively remote area more convenient and timesaving – especially important to the business travelers. So many people, both locally and regionally, have been using the service regularly and the loss of air service will be missed now more than ever.”
“Thank you to; Airport Director Juan Onofre and all airport support staff for continuing to take care of our airport operations and customers, to our Airport Commission for their ongoing time and service, and finally, to the community that has supported and sustained our service during the past 4 years,” expressed Sheedy. “We have already started, and we’re absolutely committed to working as hard as we can to re-establish air service to Del Rio and surrounding communities … as soon as we can find options that might prove attainable.”
American Airlines began servicing Del Rio in November 2018 and began with two inbound and two outbound flights per day. DRT averaged about 70% capacity for flights over the last year. The airline has serviced 150,000+ passengers to date via DRT.
The press release from the city is posted below:
