Frontier Airlines ending Provo service in January

Barely more than a year after it inaugurated flights between Provo and Denver, Frontier Airlines will be suspending operations at Provo Municipal Airport.

Helen Anderson, the city's spokeswoman, said the airline informed the city this past week that it will shut down the two-flights-a-day service starting in January. It is unclear when or if the service might be restored.

Attempts to contact Frontier representatives were not successful.

Anderson said the airline made the decision because it is reducing the number of aircraft in its fleet, and was not a reflection on the number of passengers flying through Provo.

"They said we were meeting expectations. It really was a fleet issue."

She said the city is in the process of looking for another carrier to operate from the city's airport. She said Frontier's decision may actually help the city attract another airline, as there would be no worry about competition for routes.

Frontier began operating out of Provo Municipal in June 2011, offering a morning flight to Denver and an evening flight into Provo from the Mile High City.

Frontier came in after a concerted effort by the city and Utah County to upgrade the airport with an air-traffic-control radar station, allowing controllers at Salt Lake City International Airport to see air traffic in Utah County.

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story as more details become available.

dmeyers@sltrib.com

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