Major airline abandons 3 key cities as passengers face shrinking flight choices

American Airlines has discontinued service to three key cities, leaving passengers with fewer flight options.

The full report

American Airlines has dropped flights to three destinations across the U.S., Mexico, and the Middle East this year, according to Fox News. The airline has discontinued service to Santa Maria, California; Tijuana, Mexico; and Doha, Qatar, according to aviation outlet Simple Flying, which cited data from aviation analytics company Cirium. The cuts have left Santa Maria without service from a major U.S. legacy carrier, while Tijuana lost its only nonstop route operated by a U.S. airline.

Regarding the cancellation of service to Santa Maria, American Airlines said the decision was based on performance. American Airlines operated service to Santa Maria, California, under its American Eagle brand through a partnership with SkyWest Airlines, a spokesperson from the company told local outlet KEYT earlier this year. Unfortunately, flights to SMX did not meet performance expectations, and SkyWest informed American it will discontinue service as of May 7, the official said.

In June, American Airlines permanently cut its Philadelphia-to-Doha route after previously suspending flights due to regional hostilities, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The route failed to meet performance expectations. American Airlines spokesperson Bri Harper said in a statement to the outlet that the airline has made the difficult decision to discontinue service to Doha, Qatar (DOH), as part of an optimization of its network and fleet.

American Airlines routinely reviews its routes to ensure optimal deployment of aircraft, a spokesperson told aviation outlet AirlineGeeks. Service to Tijuana had not met performance expectations, the spokesperson said. Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines for further comment, but the airline did not provide additional information.