March 13, 2026 — Southwest Airlines announced it will discontinue all service at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), with last flights operating on June 3 and service ending effective June 4, as part of network optimization to improve profitability.
The decision frees up Boeing 737 aircraft for 31 new routes while shifting focus to stronger hubs like Chicago Midway (MDW), Baltimore/Washington International (BWI), and Reagan National (DCA). At ORD, FAA flight caps limiting operations to 2,800 daily flights to reduce delays were a key factor, alongside the carrier’s “Southwest 2.0” strategy introducing assigned seating and bag fees.
Reasons for the Exits
A Southwest spokesperson stated:
Operating at Chicago O’Hare continues to be challenging. We are confident we can serve Chicagoland through our strongly-held position at Chicago Midway.
At IAD, resources are reallocating to nearby BWI and DCA. Another spokesperson noted:
As part of Southwest’s ongoing efforts to refine its network, the company will discontinue service to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) and Washington Dulles (IAD), effective June 4. These changes do not represent any significant changes in flight availability for these cities, as we will continue our robust service at Chicago Midway (MDW), Baltimore Washington International (BWI), and Washington Reagan National (DCA).
Southwest entered ORD in 2021 to compete with United and American Airlines but faced financial underperformance and prior cuts in 2024, according to The Points Guy.
Customer and Employee Accommodations
Affected customers can rebook to nearby airports such as MDW for ORD or BWI/DCA for IAD, travel standby within 14 days of their original date without fare differences, or receive full refunds, per the airline’s travel advisory cited in Aeroxplorer.
Employees at ORD and IAD will be offered positions at other stations, including Midway and Reagan National.
New Routes and Network Expansion
The move enables expansion into leisure and frontier markets, including:
- Chicago Midway (MDW) – Milwaukee (MKE)
- Denver (DEN) – Anchorage (ANC)
- Orlando (MCO) – St. Maarten (SXM)
- San Diego (SAN) – Boston (BOS)
- Las Vegas (LAS) – San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan previously commented on network adjustments: “As we look at our network, it really relates to the areas that — just don’t have a path to the level of financial performance that we need.”
Background and Reactions
IAD service, dating back to around 2006, has stagnated amid Southwest’s growth at BWI and DCA post-2012 merger, per AirlineGeeks. A Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesperson expressed disappointment: “We hope Southwest will return to Dulles in the future.”
Local coverage highlighted challenges, with WGN-TV noting ORD’s conditions and Chicago Tribune covering the five-year stint. The announcement aligns with recent exits from other markets like Houston-Bush.
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