04/11/2025
This is great news to make it even easier to have an amazing family vacation on the beach!
Hertz will rent cars from Gulf Shores International Airport; Allegiant to begin first ever commercial service to six cities on May 21
Hertz and Dollar rental car brands will have a presence at Gulf Shores International Airport when Allegiant Airlines launches commercial service in and out of Gulf Shores on May 21. Hertz anticipates making reservations available this month.
The airport has also finalized an agreement with ParkMobile, which is already in use at Gulf Shores Public Beach, to provide a simple and convenient way for travelers to pay for parking.
“The addition of Hertz and ParkMobile is just the beginning. We are actively working to develop more ground transportation options and services that will cater to the needs of our customers,” said airport director Jesse Fosnaugh
It is the city’s hope that the airport will become a key transportation hub that attracts visitors, supports local businesses, and drives economic development. Additional new businesses are also preparing to launch operations at the airport, according to Fosnaugh.
Allegiant Airlines will offer non-stop commercial flights twice per week from Gulf Shores to Knoxville, Houston, Cincinnati, Fayetteville, Belleville (30 miles from St. Louis) and Kansas City. The service is expected to bring an additional 40,000 to 60,000 tourists a year to Pleasure Island.
Initial plans are to offer flights to Cincinnati and Belleville (30 miles from St. Louis) year round and the other four locations during the summer. Wednesdays and Sundays are the expected flight days.
Allegiant flights from Gulf Shores are already available for booking. A no frills round trip flight from Gulf Shores to Hobbe Airport in Houston from June 5-8 was selling for $79.50 on March 30.
“We’re going to try those destinations out and see how they go,” said Allegiant VP Kristen Schilling-Gonzales during a Nov. 19 press conference announcing the partnership with the local airport. “Maybe those will do so well that we’ll decide to continue those onwards.
“We’ve been working on this for literally years. So, I love to say that it is a no-brainer, because we know that it would work for a long time. It is really the infrastructure that the community has really put forth that enabled all of these new routes to happen,” she added.
Gulf Shores Mayor Craft said other airlines want to offer commercial flights at the city’s airport, but the city will need to build a permanent terminal before that happens, and the airport will need to grow significantly before the FAA will make funding available to complete the temporary terminal being built now (rendering above).
Two airlines – Elite and Sun Country – announced flights from Gulf Shores to Nashville and Minneapolis, respectively, in 2022. But those plans fizzled.
“This is going to impact our economy more than what we already have,” Mayor Craft added. “But it also gives people a way to get here and stay for shorter stays and not have to drive so far. Now people will have the time to come down and enjoy what they love about our area.
“Once we get the terminal finished and get this started, we have got some letters of intent for some others that are interested in being part of this also,” Mayor Craft added.
Gulf Shores was awarded a $5 million federal grant to support the construction of a new commercial terminal last August. City Council then approved a $3 million loan to the Airport Authority to complete the terminal’s construction. The new terminal will offer modern amenities, streamlined passenger flow and increased capacity.
Gulf Shores’ journey into establishing commercial service at its airport started with a $5 million federal grant to build a landing pad to accommodate commercial aircraft and a $6.1 million federal grant to build its air traffic control tower back in 2021.
With numerous private and charter flights flyng to and from Gulf Shores, the airport already ranks it as the second busiest in Alabama behind Birmingham-Shuttlesworth. (By Fran Thompson)
