Southwest Airlines Is ENDING Several Routes at the World's Busiest Airport

You may think you know an airline like the back of your hand, but just like everything else, things can change.

©Southwest

And lots of changes are happening with Southwest Airlines as of late, sparking concerns and frustration amongst loyal flyers of the airline. One of the most significant changes taking place is the decision to cut several routes from a major airport.

Southwest Airlines is set to drastically reduce its operations to Atlanta, as reported by CNBC. In an effort to cut costs, the airline will downsize its staff at the airport, affecting more than 300 pilots and flight attendants. While Southwest has not stated these to be layoffs, employees will likely need to bid for positions in other cities. The planned cuts are slated to take place in April 2025.

Southwest Airlines at MCO

Southwest stated in a memo, “Although we try everything we can before making difficult decisions like this one, we simply cannot afford continued losses and must make this change to help restore our profitability.” Southwest will be slashing its gate numbers in Atlanta from 18 to 11 next year and it will service 21 cities instead of the previous 37.

Mickey and Minnie!

The unions representing Southwest’s pilots and flight attendants slammed the airline for cutting both staff and services, stating that the company’s management is “failing Employees while impacting Customers.”

“Management continues to make decisions that lack full transparency, sufficient communication with Union leadership, and most alarmingly, a lack of focus on what has made the airline great, the Employees,” said the flight attendants’ union president, Bill Bernal.

©Southwest

Along with the planned cuts in Atlanta, Southwest announced it’s adding more routes to and from Nashville, Tennessee. Starting April 8th, they’ll also begin offering overnight flights from Hawaii. These will include routes from Honolulu to Las Vegas and Phoenix, from Kona to Las Vegas, and from Maui to both Las Vegas and Phoenix.

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

More changes are hitting the airline in the near future, including assigned seating in the second half of 2025 and offering premium seating options as well.

Stay tuned as we bring you more updates surrounding Southwest Airlines.