ORLANDO, Fla. — Southwest Airlines is ramping up its flight schedule for 2024 with dozens of new routes across the country — and the biggest changes are happening right here in the Sunshine State.
Starting June 4, 2024, Southwest plans to offer daily non-stop service from Orlando International Airport to six new international destinations, including:
- Cancun, Mexico
- Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
- Nassau, Bahamas
- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- San José, Costa Rica
These new routes will be offered in addition to Orlando's existing flights to Aruba and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Southwest's shakeup also means that those six international routes will no longer be offered out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport starting June 4, 2024. Southwest will keep its route from Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay but will transition to Saturday-only service.
According to the airline, the shift was necessary to keep up with travel trends in a post-pandemic world.
"Southwest is continuing its plans to better optimize its network in the post-pandemic environment, responding to leisure and business travel trends," Southwest said in a statement to 10 Tampa Bay. "Shifting the bulk of international service in the Sunshine State from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Orlando offers Customers more access to our vast domestic network with nearly 140 daily departures."
In addition to the Florida flight changes, Southwest's new schedule includes five new daily domestic routes out of Burbank, Calif., new non-stop service between Colorado Springs, Colo., and Baltimore/Washington, and seasonal service out of Nashville — where Southwest plans to launch a full flight crew base in 2024.
