SLO airport launches flights to Portland and San Diego after pandemic delays
Two highly anticipated flights out of San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport launch Thursday — one to Portland and another to San Diego.
Alaska Airlines’ nonstop service between San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) and both San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Portland International Airport (PDX) begins Thursday evening with a departure to Portland at 5:20 p.m. followed by another to San Diego at 5:40 p.m.
This is the first time the San Luis Obispo region will have nonstop access to Oregon, airport officials said in a news release.
COVID-19 pushed back previous plans to start the Portland flight in June 2020.
Alaska Airlines had begun daily flights to San Diego in January 2020 but service was paused during the pandemic.
“San Luis Obispo offers the perfect mix of stunning outdoor locales, acclaimed food and wine, and a vibrant cultural scene, and we’re proud to better connect the beautiful Central Coast with San Diego and Portland,” Danny Flores, Alaska Airlines’ director of station operations for California, said in the release.
Additionally, Alaska Airlines will provide double-daily service for its Seattle flight to San Luis Obispo.
“This is a great day for Central Coast travelers,” said Courtney Johnson, airport director.
Johnson said the flights provide access to the airline’s extensive route network as well, including Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska and more.
“We are grateful for the continued support from our SLO CAL lodging community, which has invested millions of dollars over the past five years into securing these pivotal air service routes,” said Chuck Davison, president and CEO of Visit SLO CAL.
Flights between SLO and Portland are about two hours; flights between SLO and San Diego take just over an hour.
Tickets for both routes are on sale now at alaskaair.com.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 2:00 PM.
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