Avelo Airlines, a major airline partner operating out of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, has announced the closure of its base in Southern California.
The move will involve shifting Avelo’s planes to different hubs across the country and offering the California-based staff the opportunity to relocate to other Avelo bases on the East Coast.
Driving the news: Avelo established its west coast base at Burbank airport more than four years ago and quickly expanded its operations, adding flights to various destinations in Northern California, Oregon, and, briefly, Montana.
The big picture: Despite celebrating flying its 1 millionth passenger in 2023 and describing its Burbank flights as successful, the airline has cited new financial challenges that have made it difficult to sustain operations on the west coast.
- Avelo’s CEO, Andrew Levy, confirmed that the airline will reduce the number of planes flying out of Los Angeles County to just one by mid-August, with a complete shutdown of the base scheduled for December 2, 2025, coinciding with the cessation of all West Coast operations.
- Levy mentioned that the decision to cease operations in Burbank was a difficult one and was driven by the unlikelihood of adequate financial returns in the current competitive operating environment and the pursuit of more efficient, longer-term growth prospects on the East Coast.
Go deeper: All California-based employees will be given the option to transfer to other Avelo bases located on the Eastern Seaboard, including locations such as Hartford, Connecticut, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Wilmington, Delaware.
- Passengers with existing flights are offered the option to cancel their trips online and receive a refund.
- Avelo had faced backlash and calls for boycott in the past when it was revealed that the airline had partnered with the US Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide charter flights to assist with deportation efforts.
- The decision to shut down the Burbank base was clarified by a spokesperson for the company, who emphasized that the move was not related to the charter program in Arizona and was primarily driven by the company’s investment efforts failing to produce the required results to continue its West Coast presence.
