No More Direct Flights: Montana to L.A. Ends 2026

Well, that didn’t last long. Allegiant just said they are yanking all flights into Los Angeles International Airport. After Jan. 3rd, 2026, we will no longer be able to jump on a plane in Montana and end up in L.A. without a connection somewhere.

Why It’s Happening

Allegiant is saying LAX has become too expensive and too dirty. The airline insists it’s simply too expensive to do business there. And instead of eating that cost, they are packing up their Southern California hub and taking it to Burbank. Basically, Allegiant has finally had enough of combating the chaos of LAX, and who can blame them?

Why It Sucks for Montana

For us, it’s a straight-up drag. Anyone who has flown somewhere from Montana knows that we’re already living half our lives in Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, or Minneapolis just to make one decent connection somewhere. Even the one non-stop to L.A. was an occasional victory. Concerts, Disneyland, and Hollywood! You could feasibly go from snow to palm trees in a few hours without having to do the mad dash through the SLC airport.

At Least Vegas Survives

The good news: Allegiant isn’t giving up its nonstop flights to Vegas. Which is good because if there’s one city that Montanans can always count on, it’s Sin City. Cheap tickets, fast trip, and so much neon you’ll forget all about the winter blues while watching a Raiders game.

But L.A.? Say goodbye. No longer will people dream of rolling out of Missoula or Bozeman and landing in Hollywood without a layover.