Southwest Airlines is expanding its international service from Orlando International Airport (MCO) with new nonstop flights to six popular destinations in the Caribbean and Central America. Starting June 4, 2024, Southwest will offer daily flights to Cancun, Mexico; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Nassau, Bahamas; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; and San José, Costa Rica. These new flights will add to Southwest’s existing international service from Orlando to Aruba and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
This expansion is part of Southwest’s ongoing growth strategy in Orlando. The airline has been serving MCO since 1996 and now offers nonstop flights to over 50 destinations across the United States and the Caribbean. Southwest is also the largest carrier at MCO, accounting for over 20% of all passenger traffic.
Currently, most Southwest travelers head to Orlando as their destination. The airline plans to change this by expanding international destinations in Central America and the Caribbean, moving its Florida base for international flights from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando International Airport (MCO). Orlando provides better connectivity for Southwest, with over 140 daily departures from MCO. The CEO of Southwest Airlines explained this change in a recent earnings call, citing that their Caribbean destinations rely heavily on traffic from further north and Orlando has more daily flights from those cities.
For passengers traveling through MCO, connections are easy with all of the Southwest flights leaving from gates 100-129 of Terminal A.
via https://www.orlandoairports.net
One downside of Southwest using Orlando as an international hub is that there is no lounge at this gate area. However, there are several bars and restaurants with ample seating to spend a few hours.
Orlando Airport is expanding with the opening of 15 new gates at Terminal C in 2022 and an additional 8 gates opening in 2025. This means that airlines can add capacity without worrying about gate restrictions.
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