Southwest stopping operations at 4 airports, reducing flights at others

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California. Southwest is ditching open seating and shifting to assigned seats for the first time in its history, a change the airline says its customers are demanding. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California. Southwest is ditching open seating and shifting to assigned seats for the first time in its history, a change the airline says its customers are demanding. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

(WIBC) — Southwest Airlines announced last week that they will be closing operations at four airports in North America due to a first-quarter loss of $231 million and a delay in the delivery of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes.

Hoosiers who were planning on flying to Cozumel International Airport in Mexico, Syracuse Hancock International Airport in New York, Bellingham International Airport in Washington State, and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston may have to change their travel plans if they were originally flying through Southwest.

In addition to the airports where operations are being halted, Southwest will also be reducing the amount of flights offered to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport. That reduction could impact those flying from Indiana as Chicago O’Hare is only 40 minutes from the state’s northwest border.

The airline stated that the delay in plane delivery will impact their operations in 2024 and 2025.