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Southwest Airlines will no longer service two major airports in the US amid the company’s “ongoing efforts to refine its network.”
The budget-friendly airline said it will stop offering flights to and from Chicago O’Hare International and Washington Dulles International on June 4, according to a statement released on Friday.
Southwest said the region wouldn’t face significant changes in flight availability as the airline already flies out of Midway International (MDW) in Chicago, Baltimore-Washington International in Maryland and Reagan Washington National in Arlington, Virginia.
“Southwest has a proud 41-year history at MDW, and we remain committed to investing in the City of Chicago,” the airline said, sharing that it will still offer flights out of Chicago to 81 locations.
The airline will also continue to offer an additional 271 flights to 79 destinations out of both Washington-area airports.
“As the largest carrier in the Washington area in terms of passengers carried, Southwest is committed to serving this important market,” the press release read.
Southwest began service to O’Hare in 2021, as part of the company’s post-COVID expansion. Dulles operations by the airline date back to 2006.
The airline said all affected “frontline employees” at both O’Hare and Dulles would have the opportunity to bid for open positions across the company at other airports.
New York-metro travellers won’t be affected by the change as Southwest flies out of the Big Apple area airports to other area airports in both Chicago and DC.
Southwest currently offers travel to 123 airports in 42 states and 11 countries.
In January, the airline adopted a major change to its passenger policy, ditching its long-standing open seating rule.
The new policy allows Southwest passengers to choose their seats instead of the previous “free-for-all.”
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