Huge Airline Announces They Will No Longer Fly To Chicago O’Hare

A popular airline is backing out of one busy airport.

Southwest Airlines announced recently that they will be discontinuing service to Chicago O'Hare.

Southwest, which has it's headquarters in Dallas, said that the decision was made as part of an ongoing effort to "refine its network".

Southwest isn't pulling out of Chicago overall. They will continue operating flights out of Midway.

Currently, Southwest serves more than 80 destinations out of Midway, including 15 places it goes out of O'Hare. A spokesperson for Southwest said in a statement:

Operating at Chicago O’Hare continues to be challenging, and we are confident we can serve Chicagoland through Chicago Midway.

Southwest will end service to O'Hare on June 4th.

Southwest leaving O'Hare comes as a battle rages on between United and American at O'Hare. In what's been called the "air war", last year, American Airlines sued the city of Chicago, claiming that their plan is to give about 6 of O'Hare's gates to United Airlines (which is based in Chicago). American says it's part of a plan to marginalize them and is a violation of their lease agreement.

United tried to intervene in that lawsuit, arguing that the gates were under-utilized.

Southwest started service at O'Hare in 2021. Since then, they've faced financial struggles and got rid of their open-seating model.

O'Hare regained the title of America's Busiest Airport last year and now, the FAA is threatening to impose flight caps on O'Hare, arguing the airport is at full capacity.

Southwest says all employees affected by it will have the chance to bid for open positions across their network, including Midway.