Southwest Reduces New Orleans Flights

DALLAS – Southwest Airlines announced it will be cutting its number of daily flights in and out of New Orleans to about 20 per day through October. Before the pandemic, there were more than 60 daily Southwest flights in and out of the city. That number accounted for more than a third of all the flights at Armstrong International Airport, with its bright and shiny new terminal that debuted last November and then slowed to a crawl when the pandemic began in March. More flight cancellations are expected industrywide.

Airport Aviation Director Kevin Dolliole said about 200,000 travelers made their way through the airport in June. That number was down 83% compared to last year. July travelers increased to about 360,000 but the number didn’t rise any higher in August. For the year, Dolliole expects passenger traffic to hit about 50% or 60% compared to 2019.

Airlines that have halted service to the city during the pandemic include Allegiant Air, Alaska Airlines, Condor Airlines and Air Transat.