Southwest Airlines to Launch St. Thomas Flights in Early 2026

Southwest Airlines announced this week it will begin service to Cyril E. King International Airport (STT) on St. Thomas next year. The airline, however, held back a number of details about the new service.

For now, Southwest states that flights will commence “in early 2026” but did not specify a date or its departure city for the St. Thomas route. The service remains subject to government approval.

St. Thomas is the first of three new destinations Southwest plans to announce for 2026 this summer. The airline did not hint at the other two locations. Southwest’s current international network includes Aruba, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Turks and Caicos. It also serves Belize, two destinations in Costa Rica, and three destinations in Mexico.

“We are listening closely to what our Customers want—from new products and loyalty benefits to new destinations,” said Bob Jordan, president, CEO, and vice chairman of the board of directors at Southwest Airlines. “We want to make Southwest Airlines the easy and obvious choice every time, and this is another meaningful step in our ongoing transformation.”

That ongoing transformation has included rumors of transatlantic flights, a new flight credit expiration rule, and the end of both open seating and free bags, two policies that had long defined Southwest.