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2025-02-10 17:00:00
Austinites will be able to fly nonstop to two new destinations beginning March 6, with Southwest Airlines Co. set to begin previously announced service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and to Reno, Nevada.
The nonstop route to Milwaukee will operate on weekdays, according to the Dallas-based airline, while the Reno route, which is seasonal, will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays, before becoming daily beginning on June 5.
Southwest (NYSE: LUV), which is ABIA’s largest carrier with about 8.9 million airport passengers last year, noted in its announcement that it’s also beginning previously announced Sunday-through-Friday nonstop service between Austin and Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 2. Once that happens, the airline said it will have “more service than ever before” in Austin by operating up to 128 flights daily during peak travel days.
American Airlines is ABIA’s second-biggest carrier, handling about 4.3 million passengers last year. All told, about 21.8 million passengers went through ABIA last year, 1.5% less than the estimated 22.1 million in 2023 — its busiest year on record.
ABIA, which opened in 1999 and was built to accommodate 11 million passengers, is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar expansion meant to cement its transition from a medium-sized airport to a large one. The expansion, potentially complete by 2030, will add at least 20 new gates, a new concourse and accompanying tunnel, a new arrivals and departures hall and a new baggage handling system. Traffic patterns also are being redesigned, both for vehicles going to the airport and for airplanes taking off and landing.