North American Airlines pulling out of BWI
North American Airlines said Tuesday it is ending four weekly flights from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, citing rising fuel costs.
North American operated three flights a week out of BWI to Lagos, Nigeria, and one to Accra, Ghana, said Steve Forsyth, an airline spokesman, in an interview Tuesday.
The suspended flights will also include North American’s African flights from New York’s Kennedy Airport. The move by the airline, effective May 20, is another blow to BWI’s efforts to grow its base of international carriers. The bulk of the airline’s business is through military and commercial chartered flights, Forsyth said.
"What now makes these markets untenable is the rising cost of fuel," said Rob Binns, chief commercial and planning officer, in a news release. "We have seen our jet fuel costs increase 60 percent since we entered the Africa markets in 2005."
Customers booked on a flight after May 20 will receive a refund for their reservation.
The airline is a unit of Peachtree City, Ga.-based Global Aero Logistics instant payday loan.
BWI’s limited number of direct international flights is a hindrance as it competes with other airports, air travel industry experts say, because foreign tourists and domestic business travelers going overseas have been the customer segments seeing the largest growth.
The airport’s top international flights include British Airways service to London Heathrow Airport and USA3000 service to the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) and AirTran (NYSE: AAI) have boosted domestic passenger numbers at BWI.
Timothy Campbell, executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration, has said that a lack of connections to international destinations has been a problem, even as the airport has caught up with its passenger level seen before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.