Shasta County supervisors make attempt to keep Avelo Airlines in Redding

Redding, Calif. - The Shasta County board of supervisors have decided to make a last ditch effort to keep Avelo Airlines in Redding. The low cost airline announced that they will be terminating service at the airport effective Monday August 26. The decision was made, in part, because the company that handles their baggage and ticketing services has left California entirely. 

At today's meeting the board heard from former airport Jim Wadleigh who said that Avelo will be leaving "No matter what". Wadleigh also stated that he believes that with the right incentives the county could convince the airline to reverse their decision later. 

Shasta county district 5 supervisor Chris Kelstrom tells Action News Now that the county is sending a letter to Avelo. The proposal outlined in the letter includes a "$100 thousand guarantee, three years worth of baggage handling fees and counter fees."

The city of Redding, on the other hand, is not so optimistic. Assistant city manager Steve Bade tells Action News Now says he spoke with Aveo corporate management saying "I had mentioned specifically if we were to provide additional funding, would that make a difference? And they said no."

Bade also said that in spite of the loss of Avelo they are moving forward with their bid to expand flights out of Redding. He also mentioned that travellers can still fly to the Los Angeles area via United Airlines. 

The Airport faces other issues including having to make necessary improvement's to the main runway. The city is hopeful that those improvements will be completed later next year.