MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Allegiant Says It Plans to Grow Twin Cities Flying After Sun Country Merger Despite Near-Term Cuts

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 2, 2026). Allegiant Air's leadership is assuring Twin Cities business and civic leaders that Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport will remain an important part of the airline's future even as the merger with Minnesota-based Sun Country Airlines brings corporate changes and near-term reductions in flying.

Allegiant executives told a Minneapolis-Saint Paul audience Thursday that the company's longer-term strategy is to expand its presence in the Twin Cities, including adding destinations and maintaining competitively priced service.

The reassurance comes during a period of significant change for Sun Country, an airline with deep Minnesota ties.

The combined carrier ultimately plans to operate under the Allegiant brand, meaning the Sun Country name and logo are expected to disappear after integration is completed.

Corporate positions are moving toward Allegiant's Las Vegas base, but employees whose jobs are directly connected to flight operations at Minneapolis-Saint Paul, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, have received assurances that their positions will remain.

The transition is not occurring without short-term reductions.

Sun Country's September flying was down approximately 40 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to reporting from the Minnesota Star Tribune. October capacity is scheduled to be approximately 20 percent below last year's level.

Allegiant executives characterized those reductions as temporary rather than an indication that the company intends to retreat from Minnesota.

For the Twin Cities, the distinction matters.

Sun Country has long occupied a particular position at MSP by providing lower-cost leisure service to domestic and international vacation destinations while also operating charter and cargo businesses. Changes to its route network, staffing and brand therefore carry consequences for passengers, airport employment and competition.

A merger can also create tension between two realities: the efficiencies sought by a combined company and the economic interests of the community losing a locally identified corporate headquarters.

Allegiant is asking Twin Cities travelers and business leaders to judge the transaction over a longer horizon.

The measurable test will come after integration: how many routes the combined carrier operates from MSP, how frequently it flies them, how many Minnesota-based operational jobs remain and whether competition continues to give travelers meaningful choices on price and destination.

For now, Allegiant's stated position is that the current pullback in flying is temporary and that Minneapolis-Saint Paul remains part of its growth plans.

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