Dallas Love Field has been the exclusive home of Southwest Airlines for more than 50 years, but that may not be the case for much longer.
Southwest Airlines says it plans to expand its regional presence to more airports in North Texas once the company’s agreement to limit expansion to other North Texas airports expires in 2025.
“We’re full up at Love Field,” said Ryan Green, executive vice president at Southwest Airlines, in a speech to the Downtown Rotary Club in Fort Worth, per reporting from Fort Worth Report.
In 1979, U.S. Rep. Jim Wright, then House majority leader, passed an amendment (The Wright Amendment) to the Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 that restricted interstate service in and out of Love Field.
The Wright Amendment was passed as a means of keeping airlines that served the DFW region from the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport from losing business. However, after months of lobbying by Southwest, the airline reached a compromise that allowed nonstop ticketed service between Love Field and four neighboring states: Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
While the Wright Amendment was repealed in 2014, an agreement that Southwest could not expand to other North Texas airports or operate from DFW without losing gates at Love Field remained.
For Green, the expiration of that agreement comes at an opportune time for the Dallas-based airline, especially given the metro’s record growth and surging population recently.
Once the agreement ends in 2025, Southwest’s restrictions will be lifted, allowing the airline to expand its operational presence to other airports in the region.
Even though Southwest plans to keep its options open, Green says the airline could apply for gates at DFW International once the new Terminal F is completed by 2026. The second candidate for expansion is McKinney’s National Airport in Collin County, though Green also highlighted opportunities presented elsewhere in the North Texas region.
Until the Wright Amendment expires in 2025, Southwest will continue to improve its appeal to business passengers and attract new corporate accounts.
“That’s actually something new for us, and it’s now a big emphasis,” Green said in reference to prioritizing corporate accounts, according to Fort Worth Report.
Note: This article was updated on June 13, 2023, at 8:38 a.m. to include additional information about the Wright Amendment.