Southwest Airlines Unveils 14-Route Expansion
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Southwest lands in Knoxville next spring
Southwest will begin service at Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) on March 5, 2026, as part of a broader 14-route schedule extension covering March 5–April 6, 2026. Tickets are on sale now.
The airline says it will launch four new routes to TYS with a total of five daily flights. Southwest did not publish the specific city pairs in the initial announcement; expect a mix of high-frequency connectors into larger Southwest bases paired with at least one point-to-point leisure option. This becomes Southwest’s third Tennessee station after Nashville (BNA) and Memphis (MEM).
Why Knoxville matters: the market anchors the University of Tennessee, sits at the doorstep of the Great Smoky Mountains and Dollywood, and previously saw Southwest’s one-time subsidiary AirTran operate until its 2014 integration.
San Diego gets seven new nonstops
Beginning in March 2026, Southwest will add seven new San Diego (SAN) routes—five daily and two Saturday-only seasonals—largely mirroring Alaska Airlines’ recent build-up at the airport:
Daily:
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SAN–Seattle (SEA)
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SAN–Eugene (EUG)
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SAN–Portland (PDX)
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SAN–Kahului, Maui (OGG)
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SAN–Puerto Vallarta (PVR)
Saturday-only seasonal from March 7, 2026:
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SAN–Bozeman (BZN)
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SAN–Spokane (GEG)
Every one of these SAN markets currently has Alaska service. Southwest, the largest carrier at SAN, moves into the airport’s new Terminal 1 on September 23.
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Ten more routes from key bases
In addition to Knoxville and San Diego, Southwest will add 10 new routes centered on several core stations—Chicago Midway (MDW), Nashville (BNA), Phoenix (PHX) and San Diego (SAN)—starting in March 2026. The carrier framed these as a mix of leisure and connective adds designed to strengthen spring break and shoulder-season flows. Specific city pairs were not detailed in the summary provided; look for a blend of mid-continent connectivity and short- to medium-haul leisure links timed for banks at those bases.
New “hub” connectors to boost flows
Southwest also flagged three new connector routes intended to deepen network utility at BNA, MDW, and PHX. Historical O&D in each of these pairs averaged fewer than 11 daily passengers in 2024 (BTS via Cirium), underscoring that these are primarily connection-builders rather than local-demand plays. Exact city pairs were not listed in the initial brief.
Bottom line
Southwest’s March 2026 schedule extension brings a long-awaited new city—Knoxville—plus a competitive push in San Diego that lines up directly against Alaska. Layer in 10 more adds from MDW, BNA, PHX, and SAN and a trio of low-O&D connectors, and the airline is clearly prioritizing leisure flows and network depth ahead of spring break season. As detailed city-pair lists publish, the picture of how these flights stitch into Southwest’s bank structures will come into sharper focus.
