Southwest Airlines’ first international flight took place nearly 12 years ago, in July 2014. Since then, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that it has transported nearly 40 million international passengers. The market accounted for just 2% of the evolving carrier’s total traffic in that period.

The airline has been moving away from international operations. In 2025, four million passengers were carried, which was only the fifth-best year to date. Traffic fell by 12% compared to the record set in 2018, which was on the back of an 18% drop in flights.

Gone: Four International Markets From Baltimore, Chicago, And Colorado Springs

Credit: Southwest Airlines

Cirium Diio data was used to examine Southwest’s full international network between January 2025 and May 2026. This was then compared to what is available between June 2026 and the end of the year. This process enabled many things to be identified, including where it is growing flights, cutting capacity, adding routes, eliminating markets, and so on.

11 international routes have been removed from its network in this period. They include Baltimore to Los Cabos (served June 2015 until April 2026); Chicago Midway (MDW) to Los Cabos (November 2018-April 2026); Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Cancun International Airport (CUN; November 2021-April 2026); and Colorado Springs to CUN (June 2025-April 2026). The ever-popular Mexican resort destination was Colorado Springs’ first international market. Unfortunately, it had the fourth-lowest load factor across Southwest’s entire network.

Southwest is pulling out of ORD in June, after which it’ll consolidate at MDW, which is the airline’s fourth most-served airport by departures. ORD has been part of the carrier’s network since 2021. 13 routes have operated, although only CUN was international. Like with the other entries mentioned above, the DOT shows that the load factor on ORD-CUN fell in 2025. 83.4% of seats were filled, which was the lowest level in four years.

Southwest Has Ended These Other Seven International Routes

Credit: Southwest Airlines

Recall that this article is based on comparing the airline’s network between January 2025 and May 2026 with what is available from June 2026 onward. Seven other international markets have also been eliminated. A notable twist is that several of them had very few flights, perhaps operating for spring break.

Gone are Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay (MBJ; served June 2017-November 2025), Indianapolis to Los Cabos (a weekly flight in March/April 2026), and Kansas City to MBJ (October 2023-April 2026). It’d be easy to conclude that the impact of the hurricane in Jamaica impacted services to the ordinarily very popular inbound tourist destination.

Then there were Milwaukee to CUN (August 2014-April 2026), Nashville to MBJ (a weekly service in March/April 2026), Nashville to San José (Costa Rica; a weekly flight in March/April 2026), and St. Louis to Puerto Vallarta (only two departures in March 2026). It is possible, but not yet confirmed, that some of the markets with a time-limited, Saturday-only service may return in that manner in 2027.

65 International Routes Are Planned For Q3

Credit: GCMap

Let’s narrow the focus to Q3 2026 (July-September). In that period, Southwest’s latest schedule submission to Cirium indicates that an average of 40 daily international departures are planned.

Operations will vary wildly. Unsurprisingly, the quietest days will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with as few as 22 outbound flights. Saturdays will to the busiest day, with as many as 87 departures, which is influenced by many Saturday-only routes.

Southwest has scheduled 65 international routes in Q3, which includes a smattering of links with only a few flights. They are from 21 US airports, with Atlanta being the least-served. Only four departures are planned to CUN on July 11, 18, 25, and August 1. In contrast, the top five airports for international activity are shown below.