Southwest Airlines has talked with DFW International Airport about adding a “modest presence” at the second busiest airport in the world, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said Wednesday, eying the new Terminal F expected to be finished in 2026.
On Wednesday at the Skift Aviation Forum, Jordan told attendees a priority for the carrier is to ensure that Southwest keeps its 18 gates at Dallas Love Field. However, after the Wright Amendment’s restrictions expire in 2025, the airline is taking a look at growing in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
“We’re constrained and as the Metroplex continues to grow, the constraint and Love Field becomes more and more of an issue,” Jordan said.
In 2025, DFW Airport, the hub of Fort Worth-based American Airlines, could host Southwest flights for the first time. Southwest could also explore another regional airport, potentially McKinney National on the north side of the metropolitan area or Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
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Dallas could also expand city-owned Love Field, which is now prohibited by federal law and would take the agreement of airlines, airports, and city governments — as well as Congress.
Southwest has long preferred Love Field as its North Texas airport, not only because of the legal restrictions but because it’s only a few feet from its corporate headquarters on the southwest side of the airport. Southwest operates about 195 flights a day from Love Field. Airlines are also prohibited from flying outside the U.S. from Love Field, a restriction Southwest would not have at DFW.
