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Philadelphia will be home to the World Cup, MLB All Star Game, and U.S 250th Birthday celebrations in 2026. ULCCs are increasing service to PHL to prepare.
Many American cities are projected to get an economic boost in 2026 as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary and hosts the World Cup of Soccer. However, for some cities that means more than others. Philadelphia is one of those cities currently receiving a boost of service from ultra low-cost airlines looking to take advantage of the calendar of events in 2026.
This comes at a perfect time. Comparing the number of passengers Philadelphia International Airport had in 2024 against 2025, it’s easy to see that growth wasn’t great. By the end of 2026, the airport might become one of the major airports to see resurgent growth by year’s end.
This growth will be fueled partially by domestic demand, and ultra low-cost carriers are already getting in on the action. Spirit, Allegiant, and Frontier are the airlines that have boosted or maintained their service despite network cuts, to Philadelphia.
In this analysis, we’ll dive into why Philadelphia is destined to receive a travel boom in 2026, shine light on the added service coming to PHL, and explore what that means for you as a customer and for the ultra low-cost carriers.
A lot is about to happen in Philly, and it comes at the right time for the city. In 2025, Philadelphia International Airport saw a decline in passenger traffic for the first time since 2020.
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | % change |
| Arriving Traffic | 13,101,000 | 12,812,000 | -2.2% |
| Departing Traffic | 13,050,000 | 12,825,000 | -1.72% |
Despite having a steady roster of airlines committed to the airport, PHL hasn’t been experiencing the growth you’d expect from a major city. In comparison, New York-JFK experienced a 0.68% increase in arrivals and 1.21% increase in departures comparing 2025 to 2024.
2026 could change all that. The city will be home to several marquee events that should bring significant travel demand.
Philadelphia is one of 16 host cities in North America for the 2026 World Cup. Games will be held at Lincoln Financial Field, bringing fans and tourists from all over the world to Philadelphia International Airport.
The tournament runs from June 11th through July 19th, with Philadelphia hosting games for the eastern region.
The last American World Cup took place in 1994 and brought millions in some cases billions of dollars to host cities. An estimated 300,000 to 1 million travelers came to the United States during the games, helping cement the 1994 World Cup as one of the most successful in history.
Right on the tail end of the World Cup, Philadelphia will host the MLB All Star Game on July 14th. Fans from all over the country will flock to Philly in support of their favorite team’s all-star players.
Last year in Georgia, the All Star Game filled Truist Park with over 41,000 fans, many of whom flew into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for All-Star week festivities. Passenger traffic for Frontier and Delta grew in July 2025 month-over-month at the airport, with 240,388 additional domestic passengers for Delta and 38,043 for Frontier.
The same could happen in Philadelphia.
Probably the most important event happening in Philadelphia is the United States’ 250th birthday celebration.
Philly is a historic American city. It was a vital participant in key events surrounding the nation’s founding and even served as the capital of the United States for a period of time until the founders settled on Washington D.C.
Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell and many other historic landmarks. Organic tourism to the city is expected to spike in 2026 as the United States actively markets the 250th birthday celebration, bringing attention to these historic sites.
During America’s 200th birthday, 1.2 million tourists visited celebrations in Philadelphia, while the peak celebratory experience happened in New York City for Operation Sail, bringing in close to 6 million visitors to NYC alone.
Philadelphia International Airport is likely going to play a huge role in facilitating the domestic travel demand generated from this celebration.
Without surprise, several ultra low-cost air carriers have been jumping on this opportunity to increase service to and from Philadelphia in summer 2026.
Allegiant Air, an ultra low-cost carrier known for avoiding large international airports in favor of smaller secondary airports, made a significant push to add service directly from Philadelphia International Airport in May.
They’ve added routes to Grand Rapids, Knoxville, and Des Moines..each giving mid-westerners cheap access to all the great things happening in summer 2026 in Philadelphia.
Allegiant has also expanded service at nearby Atlantic City International Airport, though most of their routes there involve leisure travel to Florida. Still, for Florida travelers looking to fly to Philadelphia on a budget, they could use Allegiant to get to Atlantic City and make the short drive over to Philly.
Allegiant moving into Philadelphia is important because it’s connecting the city to smaller destinations that would have only been served by a regional airline, likely at cost.
Frontier Airlines has always had a significant presence in Philadelphia. Early 2026 has been a different year for the airline, though. Frontier downsized their operations in an effort to stabilize profitability, and their route network was moderately reduced but Philly was one of the airports spared from any further cuts. Frontier did enact many service cuts involving Philadelphia in late 2024, early 2025.
| ULCC Airline | % Market Share in PHL in 2025 |
| Allegiant | 0.0% |
| Frontier | 11.75% |
| Spirit | 4.49% |
F9 has served as the region’s most prominent ultra low-cost carrier for a while now, and nothing will change that in 2026. Frontier will continue to be a major player bringing in budget-conscious travelers hoping to take part in the events happening in Philadelphia.
The most uplifting news surrounding airlines at Philadelphia International Airport is Spirit Airlines adding new routes in 2026. This comes on the heels of their announcement of emerging from bankruptcy in mid-2026.
Spirit will restart routes from Philadelphia to cities like Detroit, Charlotte, and Atlanta. It appears Spirit will be challenging Frontier out of Atlanta and American Airlines on their Charlotte routes.
This is wonderful news for both the airport and Spirit. These cities are large metropolitan centers as well as host cities for the World Cup, so these routes should perform well for Spirit and for Philly. It also showcases Spirit’s commitment to smarter decision-making. They want to fly routes that are profitable, and it appears they’ve made a great decision with these ones.
With all that’s happening in 2026 for Philly, it’s clear that ultra low-cost carriers are jumping into the action. There’s ample opportunity for them to be successful flying into and from the City of Brotherly Love.
Based on population alone, Philadelphia ranks as the 6th most populous city in the United States with 1.6 million people calling it home. Unfortunately, Philly also ranks poorly when it comes to socioeconomic factors like average salary/wage and economic mobility.
This could be part of the reason why legacy carriers like United or Delta chose to use alternative airports as hubs, leaving American Airlines as the only legacy carrier with significant presence at the airport. Premium leisure and business travel is where legacy carriers make their money, and that type of travel can be hard to come by from Philadelphia natives.
This is where the ultra low-cost carriers come in. For the average Philadelphia resident, budget is likely the sole deciding factor on whether to travel for leisure. American Airlines is often too expensive, especially for traveling families. But the low-cost offerings provided by the ULCCs make travel accessible for people from Philly.
The other side of it? Folks flying into Philly using ULCCs are likely spending significant money on tickets for the World Cup and MLB All Star Game. In some cases, it could cost a fan thousands of dollars just in tickets to follow their team from the first games to the final. On top of that, area hotels and rideshares are likely to raise their prices due to demand. All in all, it’s going to be an expensive trip for people coming to Philly, and they’ll be looking for anywhere to save. A cheaper flight is a great place to start.
For travelers, the ULCC service to and from Philadelphia means more options. Cities like Des Moines, Grand Rapids, and Knoxville are now connected to Philly, giving residents the opportunity to take part in all the celebrations. Detroit, Charlotte, and Atlanta residents now have alternatives to the legacy carriers. If you plan on attending one of the events happening this summer in Philadelphia, you have more airline choices and flights available to you, something that wasn’t the case a few months ago.
All of this will boost the city of Philadelphia. One of the many selling points for hosting the World Cup is the benefits the tournament brings to local economies. The same can be said for the 250th and the MLB All Star Game.
Whether you’re flying in for the festivities or you’re a Philadelphia resident looking to travel elsewhere, the service additions in the past few months at Philadelphia International Airport are creating opportunities for travelers that haven’t existed at PHL in years.
Philadelphia is due to get its shine.
History shows that local economies benefit from big celebrations like the World Cup or MLB All Star Game. Philadelphia will boost its traffic counts in 2026, and the ULCC airlines are already jockeying into position to get their share of the market.
The biggest winners? Customers and the ultra low-cost carriers are increasing their service to Philly. Philadelphia residents and incoming tourists will be able to take advantage of competitive fares across multiple airlines, which means plenty of inventory and options. Ultra low-cost carriers will likely have full planes, making Philadelphia the hot commodity of 2026.
