Allegiant Airlines and the Canadian carrier Porter Airlines have cancelled two seasonal flights from Palm Springs International Airport. The routes to Bellingham, Washington, and Toronto, respectively, represent just a small fraction of the overall passenger totals from Palm Springs.
Airport spokesperson Jake Ingrassia told the Airport Commission of the cancelled routes during a meeting on May 20. Palm Springs will no longer have a direct route to Bellingham, a small city in Washington state just south of the Canadian border.
But travelers can still fly straight from Palm Springs to Toronto on Air Canada, which offers seasonal service.
“With Porter no longer operating that route, we will be continuing conversations with Air Canada, talking about upgrading their aircraft and any opportunities to add capacity to help meet that demand,” Ingrassia said during the commission meeting.
The route cancelations, which were reported earlier by the Palm Springs Post, come during an extended period of increased tension between the United States and Canada. When President Donald Trump took office in 2025, he sparked some Canadians to boycott U.S. travel after Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and spoke about making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
Some Canadians decided to sell their second homes in the United States, including in the Coachella Valley, and others have changed vacation plans to travel elsewhere.
Ingrassia said during the meeting that Allegiant’s route to Bellingham depended on passengers who drove across the border from Canada before flying to Palm Springs. The airline decided to close its crew base in Bellingham, impacting flights from that location.
A crew base is where pilots and flight attendants are permanently assigned.
“The decision reflects broader economic and industry factors affecting airlines nationwide, including fluctuating fuel costs, shifts in passenger demand, and regional cost pressures,” the Port of Bellingham, which operates the airport, wrote in a news release. “These types of adjustments are not uncommon in the aviation industry as carriers continually optimize their networks.”
Allegiant’s operations in Oakland and Los Angeles have also ended.
“As is standard in the industry, we have a dedicated team of network planners who are constantly analyzing our service to best fit our customers’ needs,” Allegiant said in a statement to The Desert Sun. “For competitive reasons, we can’t share future route plans, but there’s always a possibility for these routes to return.
Flights between Palm Springs and Bellingham have been available seasonally for years. Porter began operating a seasonal flight to Toronto in December 2024.
“We never want to leave any market, however, the route has not achieved our performance expectations,” said Robyn van Teunenbroek, a spokesperson for Porter. “The market and passenger preferences will continue guiding us as we make network decisions.”
Air Canada continues to operate in Palm Springs. Its two routes, to Vancouver and Toronto, are set to resume in October.
Sam Morgen covers local government for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs airport loses Bellingham service and one Toronto route
Reporting by Sam Morgen, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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