Things are looking up for passenger flights at Stockton Metro Airport.

Allegiant Airlines will launch twice weekly service to Denver International Airport on May 14, 2025.

Denver is the largest airport in the United States. 

It allows passengers to connect to other flights or use the airport rail line to go directly to downtown Denver.

Allegiant is also expanding the number of flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix from Stockton in mid-2025.

Weekly flights to Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas will increase to nine times per week.

Stockton flights to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix will be bumped up to three times a week.

"We are pleased to introduce this new service and provide the community with a new, convenient, and affordable non-stop travel destination," said Richard Sokol, Director of the Stockton Metropolitan Airport. 

“This is an exciting step forward in the airport's continuing effort to bring more travel options to our region."

And it could be just the start of increased passenger service out of Stockton. 

Stockton Metro’s position as the fourth major airport in the Bay Area — and regional growth that is pushing up household incomes — is drawing interest from airlines interested in possibly operating connector passenger service.

San Joaquin County Supervisor Tom Patti indicated several months ago Spirit, United, and American are exploring potentially having flights in and out of Stockton.

If it happens, it would be a significant development for the Northern San Joaquin Valley with 1.6 million residents and counting.

Not only is the region consistently among the top four fastest growing areas in the state, but demographics are showing significant jumps in the household income of those moving into the area from west of the Altamont Pass.

Given Manteca’s northern most city limits at Roth Road and Airport Way is within four miles of the Stockton Metro terminal, whatever happens at the county owned airport will have a significant impact on Manteca.

The Bay Area is served by San Francisco, and Oakland airports that are significantly more congested when it comes not just to passengers accessing them but also with the number of flights.

Stockton has steadily grown its Bay Area profile in the past 20 years.

Initially, it was upwards of a dozen corporate jets being located at Stockton that were owned by big tech companies in the Silicon Valley during a time period when flight times were limited out of San Jose.

Eventually, they were able to shift back to San Jose.

Then in 2016, Amazon started its daily large cargo jet movements to Stockton. In 2020, the online retailer expanded their footprint at Stockton to handle up to eight large cargo jets a day.

Amazon operates fulfilment centers near the airport including three in Tracy, two in Stockton, and one in Manteca on Airport Way. There are also Amazon fulfillment centers in Patterson and Turlock.

Before the pandemic, United operated connector flights from Stockton to Los Angeles.

“This is very exciting news for our County and region,” said Miguel Villapudua, Chair of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. 

“Between the Board’s $26 million investment earlier this year and Airport Director Sokol’s tireless work to realize the potential of SCK, this is only the beginning of great things to come.”

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com