Southwest Airlines will permanently cease operations at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport on June 4, marking the end of a roughly five-year experiment at two of the country's most prominent hub airports.
Southwest launched service at O'Hare in February 2021 and at Dulles in November 2020. However, both stations struggled to generate the yields and load factors necessary. At O'Hare, Southwest faced fierce competition from United Airlines and American Airlines. The exits are part of a sweeping network restructuring that includes redeploying Boeing 737-800 assets to higher-performing markets.
Affected passengers holding reservations beyond June 4 are being offered rebooking or refunds. The freed aircraft are funding a 31-route expansion including inaugural service to Anchorage.
Compiled from publicly available aviation news sources. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop.
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