Southwest pulls the plug on O’Hare trips to focus on Midway, cites ‘challenging’ conditions

Five years after it shook up the region’s aviation landscape by launching flights from O’Hare International Airport, Southwest Airlines is retrenching to its Midway International Airport hub.

“As part of Southwest’s ongoing efforts to refine its network, the company will discontinue service to O’Hare effective June 4,” a spokesperson said Friday.

“Operating at Chicago O’Hare continues to be challenging, and we are confident we can serve Chicagoland through our strongly held position at Midway.”

Southwest debuted service at O’Hare in February 2021 to give customers a choice of locations, the company said at the time.

By April 2024, the carrier was offering 30 departures a day but scaled back to 18 after experiencing delays in obtaining new planes from Boeing, related to a mishap with a 737-9 MAX jetliner.

Saturday’s schedule showed 15 flights set to take off from O’Hare to Orlando, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Cancun, Tampa, Nashville, Austin, Dallas, and Denver.

“Our robust service from our long-standing base at Midway will continue to serve more than 80 destinations, including the 15 markets we serve from O’Hare. Southwest remains committed to providing its signature hospitality to our customers in Chicagoland,” a spokesperson added.

The move comes as the Federal Aviation Administration has put airlines on notice they need to scale back the crowded summer flight schedule.

“Southwest knows it could be a stressful summer at O'Hare, with FAA-imposed flight cuts looming,” DePaul University transportation expert Professor Joseph Schwieterman said. “The gain from serving the airport is no longer to be worth the pain.

“Since Southwest changed its business model to be more like American and United, its service isn't differentiated enough in the eyes of customers for it to compete at O'Hare with such a limited schedule,” Schwieterman noted.

Chicago Department of Aviation leaders said they understood “the airline's need to continually evaluate its network and make the appropriate business decisions. The department looks forward to welcoming Southwest back to O'Hare International Airport in the future.”

Southwest is also ending flights from Washington Dulles International Airport on June 4.

Passengers booked on Southwest trips through O’Hare starting June 4 and beyond have options including the following.

• Customers can rebook or travel standby (within 14 days of the original date of travel) without paying to change.

• Passengers can switch to alternate airports that include Midway, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport or Indianapolis International Airport.

• Customers can receive a refund for the unused ticket plus travel charges, such as priority boarding.

Southwest employees working out of O’Hare will also be impacted. The airlines said workers have a chance to bid for open jobs at Midway and across the network.

Southwest has operated out of Midway for 41 years with up to 244 daily departures landing at 80 destinations, including all locations served at O’Hare.

City officials said they anticipated “many more years of strong partnership between Southwest Airlines and Midway as we continue working together to enhance and modernize the passenger experience at the ‘busiest square mile in aviation.’”

Travelers seeking for information can visit, southwest.com/travel-advisory.