Passenger stranded in Punta Cana after Avelo cancels final flight

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Just a few months after announcing a new international flight to the Dominican Republic, Avelo Airlines’ decision to end that route left dozens of people stranded over the weekend.

Back in December, Avelo Airlines launched an international flight from Wilmington International Airport to Punta Cana with great fanfare.

For Levi Boyd, that fanfare ended last Thursday when he received a text from Avelo saying his return flight to ILM had been cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions.

Boyd said no replacement flight was scheduled by Avelo, forcing him to fly back on American Airlines on Monday.

The flight Boyd took to Punta Cana was one of the last ones by Avelo following the company’s decision to cut back services and several flights to and from ILM earlier this month, something he had been concerned about.

“I saw the press information that got put out that they were, you know, pulling out of that route after that flight,” Boyd said. “That was going to be the last time they were flying out of Wilmington. So once I saw that notice, I was a little worried and figured there might not be a way to get back on Avelo so once that had happened, that was kind of like the last, last flight out of Saigon.”

In a statement sent to WWAY, a spokesperson for Avelo Airlines said the flight was cancelled both ways due to this past weekend’s winter storm.

Boyd returned to Wilmington Monday evening.