Southwest Airlines has officially withdrawn from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), marking the end of a five-year experiment at the world’s busiest airport by flight volume. The carrier announced it will shift all its Chicago-area operations to Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), a hub where it has maintained a dominant presence for over four decades.
The decision concludes a period of consolidation for the airline in the Windy City. Since 2021, Southwest had operated nonstop flights from O’Hare to 13 destinations, including 12 domestic routes and one international service to Cancun, Mexico. However, data indicates the strategy failed to generate sufficient growth to justify continued presence at the major hub.
Struggling Market Share at ORD
Southwest entered O’Hare during the pandemic era, aiming to compete directly with legacy carriers United Airlines and American Airlines. The effort yielded minimal results. According to data from The Frequent Flier, citing Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) figures, United and American collectively controlled 80% of all flights at O’Hare between June 2025 and May 2026, serving 68 million passengers in that period.
Southwest’s market share at the airport never exceeded 1.7%. Analytics firm Cirium reported that Southwest carried 8.9 million passengers from O’Hare between 2021 and 2026. The airline achieved a load factor of 75.3% during this time, falling below the industry benchmark of 80%. In contrast, operations at Midway averaged a load factor of 82.3%.
Operational challenges further complicated the O’Hare strategy. Federal Aviation Administration summer flight caps restricted capacity, while high operating costs and weak load factors eroded profitability. The airline determined that maintaining a presence at the congested hub was no longer viable.
Consolidation at Midway Airport
Southwest has operated at Midway since 1985. The airport, located on the southwest side of Chicago, remains the airline’s primary base in the region. Southwest maintains more than 90% of all flight operations at Midway. Between June 2025 and May 2026, the carrier transported 17.3 million passengers through the airport, according to The Frequent Flier.
Frontier Airlines is the second-largest carrier at Midway, handling just over half a million annual passengers and accounting for 3% of all flights. The top domestic destinations from Midway include Atlanta, Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Denver. Cancun remains the top international destination.
By exiting O’Hare, Southwest is streamlining its network. The airline previously served 12 domestic destinations from O’Hare. These routes included services to Nashville, Austin, Dallas Love Field, Orlando, Panama City Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, and Tampa. Additional domestic destinations served from O’Hare included locations in the South, Northeast, and West regions of the United States.
The move allows Southwest to focus resources on its strongest foothold. Midway offers a more consolidated operational environment compared to the fragmented market at O’Hare, where Southwest struggled to compete with the entrenched dominance of United and American.
Southwest Airlines O’Hare service has now ceased entirely. All flights previously departing from the major hub will now operate out of Midway, simplifying the airline’s Chicago footprint.
Source: Simple Flying
