RDU lands a new airline and nonstop flights to Birmingham

Triangle travelers will be able to fly nonstop to Birmingham, Ala., starting in April, after Florida-based Via Airlines begins flying from Raleigh-Durham International Airport for the first time.

Via will offer the only nonstop flights between RDU and Birmingham. The flights will begin April 11 and operate four days a week, on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, on 50-seat Embraer ERJ-145 jets.

Via becomes the 10th commercial airline to fly from RDU. The airline was founded in 1997 and until now has served about a dozen cities in the Southeast and Southwest, including Columbia, S.C.

The new flight from RDU is part of a larger expansion the airline announced Wednesday that includes new service at airports in Hartford, Conn., Memphis, Tenn., and Pittsburgh. The airline now flies to 19 cities.

This story was originally published January 9, 2019 at 1:51 PM.