A Southwest Airlines flight from Houston lands at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Dec. 11, 2025. The City of Austin signed a package worth up to $5.5 million to support the expansion of Southwest Airlines in Austin, which will add as many as 2,000 jobs over the next five years with high average salaries.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Austin has signed off on an incentive package worth up to $5.5 million to support a major expansion by Southwest Airlines, the latest move cementing the carrier’s growing presence in one of its fastest-rising markets.
The City Council on Thursday unanimously authorized negotiation and execution of the agreement, which is expected to help Southwest add as many as 2,000 jobs in Austin over the next five years. City officials would not say what types of positions the Dallas-based carrier plans to bring, but city documents show the roles would carry an average salary of $180,000.
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Stacy Schmitt, senior vice president of communications for Opportunity Austin, a local nonprofit economic development organization, said the city and Southwest continue to develop the airline’s plans locally but that preliminary conversations include building a state-of-the-art training facility for pilots and flight attendants and establishing a more substantial crew base, which could help the carrier develop more nonstop routes to and from the city.
“It is absolutely a great thing because it is a great community partnership with Southwest Airlines,” said Schmitt, whose group is helping coordinate the effort. “There is this real local piece as far as job creation and financial investment. From a regional aspect, it is a great thing for our airport, which serves the entire region.”
Mayor Kirk Watson, Gov. Greg Abbott and Southwest CEO Bob Jordan are scheduled to unveil more details Friday morning at an airport news conference.
Under the approved incentive framework, Southwest will receive $2,750 per Austin-based hire, provided those employees live within city limits and the airline meets job-creation and performance requirements. Southwest will also be required to return 10% of its award to the city’s Childcare Assistance Reserve Fund.
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In all, the expansion is projected to generate $19.8 million in new local tax revenue — $11.85 million of that going directly to the city — while creating another 5,100 indirect new jobs in construction, hospitality, food service and other sectors.
The Southwest Airlines bag drop at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Dec. 11, 2025. The City of Austin signed a package worth up to $5.5 million to support the expansion of Southwest Airlines in Austin, which will add as many as 2,000 jobs over the next five years with high average salaries.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
“This agreement would bring thousands of good-paying union jobs that will help pay the bills and support our families,” said Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, whose district includes the airport. “We know that when people have stable work, our whole community benefits from local businesses to neighborhood stability.”
Southwest officials have previously said the airline hopes to grow its footprint in Austin as the airport expands, with a second concourse slated to open in the early 2030s. The airline is already the dominant carrier at Austin-Bergstrom carrying more than 40% of the airport’s traffic. In October, Southwest carried a record 872,000 passengers at Austin-Bergstrom, a 13% increase from a year earlier.
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“Southwest appreciates the leadership of Mayor Kirk Watson and the Austin City Council and we look forward to working with them as we make Austin and Central Texas an even bigger part of Southwest’s future,” Southwest said in a statement ahead of the vote.
Southwest has recently added training facilities in other cities where it is looking to expand operations.
In April, the carrier opened a 23,000-square-foot facility near Denver International Airport that it said was needed to support projected growth in the region. The facility mainly focuses on training for ground operations personnel, including customer service, ramp, operations agents and cargo workers.
When the Denver center opened, Southwest’s director of training said pilots would continue to receive initial and recurrent training at the airline’s corporate campus in Dallas. Flight attendants also receive four weeks of initial training in Dallas.
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Southwest flight attendants are based at 12 different locations across the U.S.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.
