Allegiant closes $1.5B deal to acquire Sun Country Airlines

Allegiant Travel Co. on Wednesday completed the $1.5 billion merger with Sun Country Airlines and the two air carriers will operate separately as they work toward integrating systems under the Allegiant name.

Details of the closing of the deal came in a series of Securities and Exchange Commission filings Wednesday.

Officials with both airlines and aviation analysts have applauded the merger that brings together complementary route networks across Allegiant’s small and mid-sized localities and Sun Country’s larger cities providing more than 650 routes, including 551 Allegiant routes and 105 Sun Country routes. Between them, the two airlines have about 22 million passengers annually.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.