Southwest Airlines cuts 30 routes in pivot to add more connecting flights

Southwest Airlines will cut as many as 30 routes from its map next March, the latest in a larger transformation at the company aimed at boosting profits.

The cuts hit Denver International Airport (DEN) — the Dallas-based carrier's largest airport by both flights and seats — and St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) the hardest, with each losing seven routes, the latest schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows.

The cuts come in Southwest's March 2026 schedule update that also includes more than a dozen new routes, plus one new destination: McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) near Knoxville, Tennessee. The additions — and the larger schedule update — include more connection-oriented flights that begin to pivot Southwest toward something entirely new: a hub-and-spoke route map similar to the one used by legacy airlines.

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"We will still have the largest point-to-point network in the industry but, with additional connection options layered in, driving improved network utility and more options for our customers," Andrew Watterson, Southwest's chief operating officer, said in late July. "The connection opportunities will vary by season, day of week and time of day with less structure connectivity in peak times."

Southwest is in the midst of a larger transformation to boost profits. It began charging bag fees in May and will begin assigning seats and selling new extra-legroom seats early next year.

What routes did Southwest cut?

Southwest will end 30 routes based on TPG's analysis of the airline's schedule update that runs from March 5, 2026, through April 6, 2026. The airline does not publish flights beyond that date.

A Southwest spokesperson said many of the reductions are seasonal, with only 11 considered "permanent" route exits. However, all the routes TPG lists as cut were flown for the full year prior to March 2026.

The highest-profile cuts occur at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), which loses nonstops to both New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina. Southwest faces fierce competition on both routes from Atlanta's hometown carrier, Delta Air Lines, but both are also large business markets in their own right.

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DEN loses seven "seasonal" nonstops that previously had been year-round: Albany International Airport (ALB) and Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) in New York, Bradley International Airport (BDL) near Hartford, Charleston International Airport (CHS) in South Carolina, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Norfolk International Airport (ORF) in Virginia and Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD) in Providence, Cirium schedules show.

And the seven routes dropped from STL are: Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) in California; CLT; Des Moines International Airport (DSM) in Iowa; Clinton National Airport (LIT) in Little Rock, Arkansas; Oklahoma's Tulsa International Airport (TUL) and Will Rogers International Airport (OKC) in Oklahoma City; and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) in Kansas.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and California's Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK) also saw cuts.

Southwest's new connecting flights

Southwest is making more changes to its schedule beyond adding routes that target connecting travelers. It's also adding routes aimed at facilitating connections — another major change in Southwest's strategy. These routes, which have few travelers flying solely between them on a daily basis, tend to be short — often just a few hundred miles — and feed directly into the airline's large bases.

The March 2026 schedule update includes a few of these, such as Southwest's new routes between Chicago's Midway International Airport (MDW) and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE), at just 80 miles, and between Nashville International Airport (BNA) and TYS, at 152 miles.

In March, the airline will also add new nonstops that target connections between MDW and DSM, ICT and TUL, and Dallas Love Field (DAL) and OKC.

Brett Snyder, author of the blog Cranky Flier, wrote on Monday that four Southwest bases — BNA, DEN, MDW and STL — see flights rescheduled into four connecting "banks," or when arrivals and departures are coordinated to facilitate connections.

"With better connectivity that uses the four hubs to create opportunity throughout the day and the introduction of redeyes, Southwest has turned into the thing it always pretended it didn't want to be ... an airline well-equipped for connections," he wrote.

Below is a list of all the routes Southwest will end, either permanently or seasonally, in March 2025.

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