Why it matters
Affects 2 airline programs (Southwest, Southwest Airlines).
What happened
Southwest Airlines is pulling out of Chicago O'Hare Airport (ORD) as of June 4, 2026. The airline stated the decision is part of an ongoing effort to refine its network, noting that operating at O'Hare has been challenging. Southwest will instead focus on serving the Chicagoland area through its primary hub at Chicago Midway Airport (MDW). Currently, Southwest serves around a dozen destinations from O'Hare, including hubs and focus cities like Austin (AUS), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Las Vegas (LAS), and Phoenix (PHX), as well as point-to-point routes such as Fort Myers (RSW). This move ends a roughly five-year experiment with O'Hare service, which began in 2021, similar to its previous withdrawal from Houston Intercontinental (IAH) in 2024
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