In July 2025, Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said he didn't expect the major airline's Nashville growth to stop anytime soon. He was right.
Southwest announced its largest summer schedule ever out of Nashville International Airport on Oct. 2, including 3 brand new destinations and the resumption of 2 high-demand seasonal flights. Plus, the airline already added 8 new nonstop destinations earlier this year.
Starting in June 3, 2027, Southwest will debut seasonal flights to Nassau, Bahamas; Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands; and Boise, Idaho. The two returning summer destinations are Bozeman, Montana, and Portland, Oregon. The former has been a popular route for Nashville travelers since it began in 2024, and the latter
started in 2025.
Other previously announced new routes that Southwest is slated to fly from BNA in 2027 include St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Liberia-Guanacaste, Costa Rica; and Aruba.
"Southwest has continually invested in Nashville since opening a Flight Crew base there in 2024 with year-over-year growth in each month of the year, include up to 20 more departures in summer 2027 compared to summer 2026," a Southwest spokesperson said in a statement.
BNA continues to inch its way up Southwest's list of top 10 airports, which include Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Denver International Airport and Dallas Love Field. Compared to the other top airports, Southwest has grown the most in Nashville between 2025 and 2026 with around 14% more departures. BNA is officially Southwest's fifth busiest airport, according to an airline spokesperson.
"What we like about Nashville is that it's a combination of tourism traffic, business traffic and of course the community traveling," Watterson previously said. "Those three things are what drive the need for air service. "
Despite the fact that the Metro Nashville Airport Authority has spent $539 million on renovations for Southwest's BNA hub in Concourse D over the last decade, the airline already needs more gates. In September, the airline took on two additional gates in BNA's satellite concourse. With those, Southwest operates a total of 43 gates at the Nashville airport, which is nearly half of those available.
Plus, $53 million of construction is underway to open one of Southwest's first travel lounges inside of the airport. It will be about 30,200 square feet and located post-security in the central lobby, just above Acme Feed & Seed.
The lounge is set to open in late 2027.
Hadley Hitson covers business news for The Tennessean. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work,subscribe to The Tennessean.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville airport adds new international, domestic nonstop destinations
