Breeze Airways exits Mobile, Alabama, entirely

US carrier Breeze Airways will cease flying to Mobile, Alabama's downtown airport at the end of this month. The airline currently offers the only nonstop flight from Mobile International Airport (BFM), the newest airport on the Gulf Coast, with its service to Orlando, Florida.

Breeze Airways began service to Mobile International in April, taking over the route from Avelo Airlines. Both carriers have built a successful business connecting underserved routes, often via secondary regional airports.

The choice to fly to Mobile's downtown airport set the two carriers apart from legacy airlines, which currently fly to the more established Mobile Regional Airport (MOB), approximately 11 miles due west of the city’s downtown area.

Breeze first announced flights from Mobile to Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida (also with a one-stop/no-plane-change BreezeThru service to Providence, Rhode Island) last January.

The flight began on April 10th, 2024, marking Breeze's 49th city in the United States. The link is currently served on Fridays and Mondays, but tickets are no longer available for sale on the Breeze Airways website for dates after January 31st, 2025.

The choice to service Mobile was significant as the airport is also home to Airbus’ US Manufacturing Facility, where the Airbus A220-300 planes Breeze uses to serve the route are assembled.

When reached for comment by my, a spokesperson for Breeze Airways confirmed the airline hopes to return to the market:

Effective January 31, 2025, Breeze will suspend service from Mobile International Airport (BFM). We see a lot of promise in Mobile and the surrounding area, so while there is currently no estimated timeline for resuming service at BFM, we hope to return as we continue to grow.

"We are working with our Guests who have been impacted by this change to issue full refunds or serve them from one of our nearby airports in the meantime."

Breeze began the route after Avelo Airlines exited the market early last year. Avelo began a twice-weekly route between Mobile and Orlando on May 31st, 2023, using a Boeing 737-800 to operate the link on Thursdays and Sundays through February 14th, 2024.

Breeze Airways will continue to serve Alabama via Huntsville International Airport (HSV), where it began service in 2021.

Speaking to my today, a spokesperson for the Port of Huntsville confirmed that Breeze is doing "very well" in the market.

The carrier is planning to boost frequencies at the Northern Alabama airport this year, with flights to Orlando (MCO) rising to 5x/week this summer and Tampa (TPA) increasing to 4x/week starting in May.

In addition, the carrier will continue its nonstop route to Las Vegas (LAS) and bring back its seasonal service to Los Angeles (LAX) this summer.

The withdrawal of the airport's sole commercial carrier is not expected to last long. The Mobile Airport Authority, which runs both commercial airports in the city, alongside the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley and St.

Elmo Airport, has confirmed it plans to transfer all commercial service from Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) to the more convenient Mobile International (BFM) by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

Commonly referred to as Mobile Downtown Airport, BFM is four miles south of the City’s downtown and is located on the site of the former Brookley Air Force Base off I-10 along Mobile Bay. Service to the airport began initially in the 1930s with Eastern Air Lines, and it was most recently served by Frontier Airlines before welcoming Avelo and Breeze.

A feasibility study conducted in 2018 by the Mobile Airport Authority determined that it was both feasible and critical to move commercial air passenger service from the Mobile Regional Airport in West Mobile (a thirty-minute drive from the city center) to the Mobile Downtown Airport in order to re-capture passenger traffic.

Mobile Airport Authority President Chris Curry told NBC 15 that a significant number of area residents travel to Pensacola (PNS) and New Orleans (MSY) in neighboring states to catch direct flights, in addition to the 600,000 people fly in and out of Mobile Regional Airport annually:

"We expect to capture another 50% of traffic that we're currently losing to other airports. So that 600,000 from my perspective, I can see increasing by 300,000 within the first year."

Construction on a new terminal with five gates (and the ability to expand to 12) and a new parking deck that can accommodate 1,250 vehicles is currently underway and expected to be completed in around a year.

Given its convenient location next to the interstate and port, the new facility will provide additional intermodal transportation options, with a site marked for an Amtrack station included in the recently released master plan.

Once the new terminal is completed, the flights from Mobile Regional will shift to Mobile International. As of January 2025, Mobile Regional Airport has nonstop flights to five destinations: Atlanta (Delta Air Lines), Dallas/Fort Worth, and Charlotte (both with American Airlines), and Houston and Washington Dulles with United Airlines.