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Southwest Airlines has added nine new and returning routes to its network. They were disclosed by Enilria on X. Some are currently unserved or have not previously been served at all. They come shortly after BermudAir added 14 new unusual routes to the US.
Southwest is evolving to such a large degree that the airline’s CEO now calls it a hybrid operator. The latest additions come as Southwest inaugurates 20 routes in early June. Seven launched on June 4, while 13 will take off on June 6. They include the carrier’s new longest ever nonstop service within the Lower 48 states.
These Eight Domestic Routes Will Begin
Mainly starting on February 13, 2027, the airline will begin flying from Buffalo to 
Miami International Airport (MIA), Columbus to San Juan (considered domestic), Rochester to Fort Lauderdale (Southwest briefly operated in 2020), Indianapolis and West Palm Beach (PBI), Manchester to Fort Myers, Portland (Maine) to Fort Myers, Providence to Sarasota (Southwest very briefly operated in 2023), and Pittsburgh to PBI (served by the carrier between 2013 and 2018). As is the trend in many leisure markets now, they’ll mainly be flown on Saturdays.
According to Cirium Diio data, four of the eight markets are currently only served by Breeze Airways. Is this the start of a more retaliatory approach by Southwest to that fast-growing carrier? Meanwhile, American Airlines flies MIA-Buffalo seasonally; it’ll return in November. Allegiant Air operates Rochester-Fort Lauderdale seasonally, with flights resuming in October.
Two of the markets neither have nonstop flights now nor any scheduled by other carriers in the future. They are Columbus to San Juan and Indianapolis to PBI (flown by Allegiant until 2025). The link to Puerto Rico has not had any service at all, which makes it a particularly notable addition.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that 53,000 indirect passengers flew between Columbus and San Juan last year. Most did so by connecting to another flight in Orlando, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Fort Lauderdale. Columbus was San Juan’s ninth-largest unserved domestic market.
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Another International Route Is Coming
Southwest will begin flying from Nashville International Airport (BNA) to Liberia, Costa Rica. This is the gateway to the Central American nation’s Pacific coastline, with all the beaches, activities, and wildlife.
Starting on February 13, flights will operate weekly with the following schedule. The 175-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 will be used. Unsurprisingly, the route, which will cover 1,529 nautical miles (2,832 km) each way, has never been served before. 11,000 passengers flew indirectly last year, which made it the fifth-largest unserved US-Liberia market.
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Emergency squawks, holds, NOTAMs — live signals, no signup.
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BNA is Southwest’s seventh most-served airport by flights, and it plays a growing role in connecting passengers. The DOT suggests that a total of 5.5 million of the airline’s passengers transferred to another service in BNA last year.
Southwest has flown to Liberia since 2015. It has contributed to the extremely fast-growing nonstop capacity between the US and the Costa Rican leisure destination. When all airlines are included, Cirium data shows that 1.9 million two-way seats are available in 2026, up 5% over the prior record held last year.
|
Day |
From BNA To Liberia; Local Times |
From Liberia To BNA; Local Times |
|---|---|---|
|
Saturday |
9:10 AM-1:30 PM (four hours and 20 minutes) |
1:00 PM-5:15 PM (four hours and 15 minutes)* |
|
* Clearly, a different aircraft will be used on the return leg |
Southwest Airlines’ Massive Expansion: 12 Long-Haul Routes Are Coming
The carrier’s CEO has said that up to 12 long-haul routes are likely to be served in the coming years. Where could it fly?
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International Flights Go From 22 US Airports
Southwest currently plans 71 nonstop international international routes between June 2026 and January 2027, which is as far as the carrier’s schedule on Cirium currently goes. It will be extended soon, and more markets will be announced in due course.
They’ll involve 22 US airports: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, BNA, Chicago Midway, Columbus, Denver, Houston Hobby, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Oakland, Orange County, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, Sacramento, and Tampa. Some only have a few time-limited international services. 14 international destinations are served.
10,070 departures are planned between now and January, which is down by 1% compared to what was available between June 2025 and January 2026. In contrast, Southwest’s domestic services have fallen by 7% in the same timeframe, with 11.1 million fewer domestic seats for sale. Check out the carrier’s routes with the worst loads.
