Four are already flying. Two more depart June 4, with a third to follow in October. Southwest’s boldest international push in years opens nonstop access to Mexico and the Caribbean from cities that have waited years — or never had it at all.
Southwest Airlines is adding seven new international routes to its network in the third quarter of 2026, expanding nonstop service across Mexico and the Caribbean as the Dallas-based carrier moves to capture leisure travelers while some competitors scale back.
Four of the routes are already operating. Two more — both from Las Vegas — launch June 4, with a third Las Vegas route following in October.
Kansas City to Punta Cana: A First for Any Airline
Southwest inaugurated nonstop service between Kansas City International Airport and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on March 7. The route operates weekly on Saturdays and spans 2,126 miles — the longest flight Southwest has ever run from Kansas City — with service pausing after early April and resuming from June through August.
No airline had previously offered nonstop service between the two cities. Booking data from 2024 showed an average of 90 daily passengers traveling between the markets on indirect itineraries. Kansas City Aviation Director Melissa Cooper noted that Punta Cana was the city’s second-largest unserved international market after London Heathrow.
St. Maarten Service Opens on Two Fronts
Southwest brought the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten into its network in April, launching service from two of its major Eastern hubs within days of each other.
The Orlando-to-St. Maarten route began April 7 as a daily nonstop, covering 1,358 miles in approximately three hours and 10 minutes. The Baltimore/Washington-to-St. Maarten route followed on April 11, operating twice-weekly to daily at 1,668 miles. Both are the first nonstop services ever offered on their respective city pairs.
Suzy Kartokromo, head of the aeronautical department at Princess Juliana International Airport, said discussions between the airport and Southwest dated to 2012, making the launch the result of more than a decade of coordination.
Southwest COO Andrew Watterson said Las Vegas and Orlando “are foundational communities in our network, and places where Southwest long has offered the most service, seats, and nonstop travel options,” adding, “We’re bringing more to our relationship in both places and adding to the hundreds of flights a day we already offer in both communities.”
San Diego Returns to Puerto Vallarta
On March 5, Southwest reintroduced service between San Diego International Airport and Puerto Vallarta — a roughly 1,110-mile route the carrier had not flown since 2020. The market had previously been served by multiple carriers over the decades, including Alaska Airlines, Aeromexico, America West, and others.
Las Vegas Opens Two Mexican Routes June 4, With a Third to Follow
Southwest will launch its first-ever nonstop international service from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on June 4, adding routes to Cancun and Los Cabos, with Puerto Vallarta service to follow in October.
The Las Vegas–Cancun route stretches approximately 2,006 miles and will operate five days a week, Thursday through Monday. No carrier had offered nonstop service between Las Vegas and Cancun since JetBlue operated the route in 2022.
The Las Vegas–Los Cabos route will run daily at 948 miles, and the Las Vegas–Puerto Vallarta service will operate on weekends at 1,227 miles. Both put Southwest in direct competition with Alaska Airlines, which has historically held a strong position in the Western U.S.-to-Mexico corridor. Southwest is the largest carrier at Harry Reid International, accounting for 47% of all flights there in the third quarter.
The Competitive Context
The expansion comes as Delta Air Lines has reduced its Las Vegas-to-San Diego schedule to just two daily flights at the extreme ends of the day, a retraction that creates additional room for Southwest and Alaska Airlines to compete for high-frequency traffic between the two markets.
Not all of Southwest’s 2026 international moves represent growth. The carrier ended service from Chicago O’Hare to Cancun in April as it consolidates all Chicago-area operations at Midway International Airport. It also terminated the Colorado Springs-to-Cancun route in April, citing its place as the worst-performing international route by load factor in the network, and ended the Fort Lauderdale-to-Montego Bay route in November 2025 following hurricane disruptions. Kansas City-to-Los Cabos and Oakland-to-Los Cabos service will be suspended through the third quarter, with Kansas City–Los Cabos expected to resume in October and Oakland–Los Cabos in November.
Key Takeaways
- Southwest is adding seven international routes in Q3 2026 targeting Mexico and the Caribbean: four already active, two more from Las Vegas on June 4, and Las Vegas–Puerto Vallarta launching in October.
- The Kansas City–Punta Cana route marks the first nonstop service between those cities by any airline and Southwest’s longest-ever Kansas City flight at 2,126 miles.
- New St. Maarten service from both Orlando and Baltimore/Washington represents the first nonstop offering on both city pairs.
- Two Las Vegas routes launching June 4 — to Cancun and Los Cabos — place Southwest in direct competition with Alaska Airlines, with Puerto Vallarta service to follow in October.
- Southwest simultaneously terminated three underperforming international routes, temporarily suspended two others, and is consolidating its Chicago operations entirely at Midway.