Vacationing family takes first flight ever aboard first commercial plane to Gulf Shores International Airport

BY KAYLA GREEN
Executive Editor
kayla@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 5/23/25

One group of vacationers aboard the inaugural commercial flight to Gulf Shores and Baldwin Conuty was Kayla Williams, her cousin, aunt and two daughters. Not only was it her and her daughters' first …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get the gift of local news. All subscriptions 50% off for a limited time!

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

Vacationing family takes first flight ever aboard first commercial plane to Gulf Shores International Airport

Posted

One group of vacationers aboard the inaugural commercial flight to Gulf Shores and Baldwin County last week was Kayla Williams, her cousin, aunt and two daughters. Not only was it her and her daughters' first time visiting Gulf Shores, but it was their first flight ever.

McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville, Tennessee, held a celebration before the plane departed where they handed out cookies and keychains to commemorate the flight.

"We had no clue these events were taking place until we were about to board the aircraft in Knoxville," Williams told Gulf Coast Media.

Her cousin and her husband had visited Alabama's beaches before and "fell in love with the area," so her cousin initiated a family girls' trip.

"The flight was amazing. I had been prepped to expect quite a bumpy ride, but the pilot was excellent in the art of taking off and landing the plane," Williams said. "I couldn't ask for a better experience of a first flight.

"Flying into Gulf Shores was absolutely beautiful. The airport is exactly how I pictured it would look being located on the Gulf Coast. It's a memory my daughters and I will have to look back on for years to come, so it feels special in a way. Then the crowd to greet us was delightful. Everyone was so friendly, insightful and helpful. Overall, I would say this experience as a whole has been one for books!"

Allegiant is offering flights twice weekly to and from six cities in the South and Midwest. In addition to Knoxville, the routes include Cincinnati, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Bentonville/Fayetteville, Arkansas; Belleville, Illinois; and Kansas City, Missouri. The airline also announced on Wednesday it plans to add two more cities, Appleton/Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Des Moines, Iowa, starting in October.