Southwest Airlines Launches 8 New International Routes From 2 Cities: See List Now

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is set to launch 11 new international routes between November 2026 and June 2027, including eight from Nashville and Austin. Surprisingly, none of the 11 new routes are from the airline's top three busiest international hubs (Houston, Orlando, and Baltimore). Instead, it is growing its network from other smaller hub airports.

While many debate whether Southwest is a low-cost carrier or a hybrid airline, it operates the largest fleet of Boeing 737s in the world, and more recently has transitioned away from the traditions of a budget carrier by now providing assigned seating, basic economy fares, and a soon-to-be-launched lounge network.

Four New Southwest Airlines International Routes From Austin

Southwest's largest region for international growth is from Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The airline is already the largest operator at the airport by number of passengers served, demanding more than 40% of all flight operations. The carrier will launch four new routes to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean as the airline starts flying to two destinations in Costa Rica, and one in the Bahamas and Dominican Republic.

Southwest will debut on Austin to San Jose (SJO) in March, followed by three new route launches in June, where services to Liberia (LIR), Punta Cana (PUJ), and Nassau (NAS) will commence.

Nashville To Gain Four New Southwest International Routes

Southwest is also doubling down on its network from Nashville International Airport (BNA). The airline will begin four new international services from the home of country music beginning in February, as the carrier adds Costa Rica, Aruba, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos to its Nashville network.

All of these new services are set to debut in the new year, with the first service to Liberia launching in February. This will be followed by nonstop flights to Aruba (AUA) in March, and Nassau and Providenciales (PLS) in June.

Southwest has been rapidly expanding at Nashville as the city experiences strong local growth and a growing tourism market. The Dallas-based carrier opened its first crew base at the airport in 2024.

Elsewhere, These Cities Gain One International Route Each

Rounding out the list are three international routes from three different US airports. In November this year, Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) will gain a new international link to Puerto Vallarta (PVR). The airline will serve the route year-round, and it will become Puerto Vallarta's seventh year-round destination served by Southwest.

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic will gain nonstop flights from both Columbus (CMH) and Pittsburgh (PIT) next year. You can read the full details of each route launch in the table below:

The growth from all of these destinations is unique in that they are not from the airline's major international hubs. The top ten busiest airports by Southwest international flights are in the order of Houston (HOU), Orlando (MCO), Baltimore (BWI), Phoenix (PHX), Austin (AUS), Denver (DEN), Chicago Midway (MDW), Nashville (BNA), St. Louis (STL), Santa Ana (SNA).