Southwest Airlines Drops Two Orange County Routes

November 28th 2023: Southwest Airlines has announced they are dropping two routes out of John Wayne Airport (SNA) starting January 4th. The two routes are the service to Chicago’s Midway International Airport (MDW) as well as service to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

Southwest Airlines is changing its service at its Southern California airports with departures from John Wayne Airport (SNA) going down from 57 to 44. This is part of Southwest Airlines plan to use John Wayne Airport (SNA) as a relief airport for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

In the current possible recession climate and issues with crew availability all airlines are looking at where best they can use their planes and crews for maximum efficiency. Over the years Southwest Airlines has greatly increased their presence at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as well as adding flights out of nearby Long Beach (LGB).