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Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier at Nashville International Airport (BNA). Indeed, present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that it has penciled in a grand total of 5,667 flights from the facility this August, offering some 909,987 seats in the process. This also makes it Southwest’s fifth-largest base by scheduled departures.
In the coming months, Southwest is set to continue to grow its presence at BNA, with seven new routes set to launch between now and March. These will primarily serve domestic destinations, but the Caribbean is also among the markets being targeted by these launches.
Four New Routes Are Coming Next March
Of the seven new routes that Southwest is set to launch from Nashville, four will commence operations in March 2027. Two will serve locations in the Caribbean: Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) in Aruba and Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Passengers can expect weekly flights from March 13 to April 3 on both of these relatively short-term routes.
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Southwest’s other March route launches from Nashville will be domestic, with the carrier promising much higher frequencies. Indeed, both Des Moines International Airport (DSM) in Iowa and Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) in Kansas are set to be served on a daily basis, albeit only from March 11 to April 5. BNA officials commented on the March plans in a statement back in July.
“The March 2027 schedule contains four unique schedules based on the day of the week. Each day of the week features an increase in daily flights compared to the March 2026 schedule.”
October Additions
The addition of these four new Southwest routes out of Nashville will follow a trio of fresh additions this coming October. All of these will be domestic in nature, with Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO) being the most distant location. These flights will commence on October 1 and initially run four times a week, but as time goes on, their frequencies will fluctuate a lot.
Continuing to look to the west, October 1 will also see Southwest commence operations on its new route from BNA to El Paso International Airport (ELP). These flights will initially run five times a week, before gradually dropping to just one or two a week in January. Thereafter, the frequencies will rise again, with these services even running daily between March 10 and April 5.
Southwest Airlines’ New Routes Out Of Nashville | |
|---|---|
Launch Month | Destinations |
October 2026 | El Paso, Manchester, Reno |
March 2027 | Aruba, Des Moines, St Thomas, Wichita |
Southwest’s third and final domestic addition from BNA this October is Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT). Like the Reno route, this corridor will also be served four times a week to begin with, before fluctuating considerably in frequency until early April. All three will be served by a mix of Boeing 737-700s, 737-800s, and 737 MAX 8s.
Inside Southwest’s Booming Nashville Presence
In truth, Southwest’s growth in Nashville should not come as a surprise. Indeed, its presence at BNA has been growing for at least the last five years, rising from 38,357 scheduled departures in 2021 to 66,512 in 2026. Interestingly, this growth has somewhat come at the expense of nearby St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL), where the total has decreased slightly in recent years.
Indeed, the post-pandemic peak for Southwest flights in St Louis came in 2024, when the carrier penciled in a grand total of 41,722 departures from STL. However, after a gradual drop to 41,582 in 2025, this figure fell more sharply to 38,602 in 2026. This month, Southwest’s top destination from Nashville is Orlando, with an impressive nine flights a day in each direction.
