Southwest Airlines will expand its route network to include Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2026.
The low-cost carrier is scheduled to introduce twice-daily service between Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) and Nashville, as well as daily round-trip flights between the charming college town of Knoxville and Baltimore, Dallas and Orlando, Florida, beginning March 5, 2026.
Southwest has also extended its bookable flight schedule—which includes assigned seating from January 27 onward—through April 6, 2026.
The airline is also expanding its service from San Diego, California. Daily, year-round service between San Diego and Eugene, Oregon; Maui, Hawaii; Portland, Oregon; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Seattle will begin March 5, 2026.
Meanwhile, Saturday service connecting San Diego with Bozeman, Montana, and Spokane, Washington, will start March 7, 2026.
"Thanks to the partnership from Gov. Bill Lee, the State of Tennessee, and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, we're looking forward to serving Knoxville with our unmatched Customer Service," Southwest President and CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement. "We're celebrating another exciting milestone in our journey to transform Southwest Airlines—giving customers more reasons to choose Southwest. Plus, we're affirming our longtime commitment to California with new routes from San Diego's reimagined Terminal 1."
Additionally, beginning March 5, 2026, Southwest is introducing twice-daily service between Chicago (Midway) and Milwaukee; Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona and Little Rock, Arkansas, and Nashville. What's more, twice-daily service between Chicago (Midway) and Des Moines, Iowa; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Wichita, Kansas, will return the same day, along with twice-daily round-trips between Dallas and Oklahoma City.
Knoxville joins St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, among the three new destinations that Southwest promised to announce this summer. The third will be revealed by the end of August.
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