If you’re flying out of Austin in 2026, the list of places you’ll be able to reach nonstop is changing, and in many cases, the destinations are tilting in a more vacation-friendly direction.
New flights will make it easier to head straight to ski towns, beach cities and Midwest hubs, even as a handful of familiar nonstop options quietly fade away.
Add it all up, and the number of seats for sale is set to rise nearly 9% in the first three months of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to airport data.
Much of that change is being driven by Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which is preparing to offer unprecedented numbers of flights this summer.
Southwest announced this month that it will be launching a crew base in March at ABIA, allowing the Dallas-based carrier’s local employees to start and end their days in Austin. The city of Austin and the state of Texas are paying Southwest millions of dollars to go on a hiring spree, with some 2,000 new jobs expected.
“The benefits go to the traveling public,” airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi promised. She said the crew base will mean more nonstop Southwest flights and greater reliability, especially when it gets busy or if there’s bad weather.
Airport expansion throttles up
City of Austin
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Aviation Department
An expansion on the west end of the Barbara Jordan Terminal is set to open in the spring. A children’s play area is depicted on the left with green walls. The large staircase leads up to the mezzanine area with the meditation/quiet space and public outdoor balcony overlooking downtown Austin.
As a years-long project to increase ABIA’s capacity kicks into high gear, travelers can expect more construction at the airport. But they will also start to benefit as some of the big customer-facing projects come online in the first half of 2026.
Checkpoint 3, which has been under renovation for almost two years, is scheduled to reopen in early 2026 with more TSA screening lanes and and ticket counters.
An 80,000 square foot expansion at the west end of the Barbara Jordan Terminal is set to open in the spring with three additional gates and new amenities like a children’s play area and a place where pets can pee.
Those projects will create space the airport needs to close and demolish the South Terminal, where discount airlines Allegiant and Frontier operate.
After an intense legal fight, the city paid $88 million to evict the South Terminal’s private operator so the building could be razed to create space for new taxiways and a concourse with at least 20 gates, planned to open in the early 2030s.
Allegiant said it will move to the Barbara Jordan Terminal in February. Frontier did not respond to a request for comment, but an airport spokesperson confirmed the ultra-low-cost airline will move to the Barbara Jordan Terminal as well.
Behind the scenes, a $241 million upgrade of ABIA’s outbound baggage handling system was activated this month, ahead of schedule. The new system can process more than 4,000 bags per hour, more than double the previous volume. The city’s aviation department said this will decrease the potential for flight delays.
Air traffic controller shortage persists
Michael Minasi
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KUT News
Air traffic controllers in Austin worked unpaid through the federal government shutdown in October, which was also the busiest month in ABIA history.
Travelers at ABIA will still have to contend with a dire shortage of air traffic controllers in 2026. Even though the Federal Aviation Administration has sent more trainees to the Austin tower, the number of controllers remains about half the level recommended by staffing targets set jointly by the FAA and the union.
That has been more evident lately with an increase in ground delays, when flights to Austin that haven’t taken off yet are forced to wait at their home airports so overworked controllers at ABIA don’t get swamped.
With significant growth in flights planned in 2026 and no immediate end to the controller shortage in sight, those unexpected delays could continue to be an issue in the New Year.
So here’s a look at some of the nonstop flights coming, changing and going away, and what it means for Austin travelers planning trips in 2026.
Southwest Airlines
Gabriel C. Pérez
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KUT News
Southwest Airlines is scheduled to have up to 132 daily departures from Austin this summer, the most it’s ever had at ABIA.
Southwest is on track to offer a record-breaking volume of nonstop flights from Austin. Maximum daily departures will rise from 109 in January to an unprecedented 132 between June and August, airport data shows. ABIA’s busiest carrier is starting service to these destinations:
- Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Colorado: Saturday-only seasonal service from March 7 to April 6
- Fort Myers, Florida: Saturday-only seasonal service from March 7 to April 6
- Palm Springs, California: Saturday and Sunday nonstop service during from March 7 to April 6. Then Saturday-only service from April 7 to June 3. This is will be the first year Southwest has flown nonstop from ABIA to Palm Springs International Airport.
- Pensacola, Florida: daily service except Tuesdays and Wednesdays from March 7 to April 6
- Cincinnati: New daily service from June 4 to Aug. 3.
- Seattle: New seasonal service returns June 4 to Aug. 3. Southwest hasn’t flown Austin to Seattle nonstop since 2018.
- Indianapolis: Frequency increasing over the summer to three flights daily.
- San Francisco: Frequency increasing over the summer to two flights a day Monday through Friday
Delta
Michael Minasi
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KUT News
Delta’s expansion into Austin continues in 2026, making it the second biggest carrier at ABIA behind Southwest.
The second biggest carrier at ABIA began new nonstop service in November to Denver and Miami. Delta started flying to Cancún, Mexico on Dec. 20, and the airline plans to add more nonstop flights in 2026.
- Columbus, Ohio: starting June 7
- Kansas City, Missouri: starting June 7
- Bozeman, Montana: Saturday-only service from June 13 to Sept. 5
- Kalispell, Montana: Saturday-only service from June 13 to Sept. 5
- Destin–Fort Walton Beach Airport, Florida: Saturday-only service from June 13 to Sept. 5
- San José del Cabo, Mexico: This nonstop service was supposed to end Jan. 5, but will continue through April 12
- Palm Springs, California: Saturday-only nonstop service started in November and will be increased to daily service on Dec. 20 through March 7. The flight will return to Saturday-only through April 25.
- Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport: Delta is decreasing daily nonstop service to this airport outside Panama City, Florida, to Saturday-only from Jan. 5 to March 8.
- Louisville: Service for the Kentucky Derby with one roundtrip flight on April 30 and another on May 3.
Frontier and Allegiant
Gabriel C. Pérez
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KUT News
Allegiant and Frontier will relocate from the South Terminal to the Barbara Jordan Terminal starting in February.
The two carriers that now operate out of the low-cost South Terminal will have to start paying higher fees to the airport when they shift to the Barbara Jordan Terminal in early 2026. Ultimately, those costs get passed on to passengers.
Both airlines are planning to reduce their schedules in early 2026.
Frontier is flying nonstop to these 11 cities through Jan. 6:
- Atlanta
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Chicago O’Hare
- Denver
- Las Vegas
- Miami
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Diego
From January through March 5, Frontier will suspend service to Cleveland, Cincinnati and Philadelphia.
Allegiant will fly to seven cities through Feb. 10:
- Asheville, North Carolina
- Cincinnati
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Provo, Utah
- Sarasota, Florida
- Knoxville, Tennessee
From Feb. 11 to May 13, Allegiant’s offerings will shrink to four destinations:
- Cincinnati
- Des Moines, Iowa
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Provo, Utah
American Airlines
In addition to its regular service, the third-largest airlines at ABIA is flying nonstop to Augusta Regional Airport on April 6, 11 and 14 for the Masters Tournament.
American is also offering a special event nonstop flight to Louisville for the Kentucky Derby with an outbound flight on April 30 and a return on May 3 aboard a 128-seat Airbus A319.
Lufthansa
Starting this month, Austin is one of the few U.S. cities where Lufthansa is offering its new Allegris service. For those who can afford it, the premium offering on select flights allows travelers to choose one of five high-end seat configurations.
Lufthansa’s First Class Allegris flights offer suites with beds “as private and individual as a hotel room – only at an altitude of eleven kilometers,” the company said. But Austin’s jetsetters will have to make due with the carrier’s lesser Business Class Allegris seating on their 10-hour flight to Frankfurt, which cost well over $10,000 each way, according to a search of available tickets.
Lufthansa will fly to Frankfurt on a Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday schedule for the winter season on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Starting March 29 and lasting through the summer, the nonstop service to Frankfurt is scheduled to run five times a week on the older and less snazzy Airbus A340-300.
Alaska Airlines
The number five airline at ABIA is stopping twice daily service to San Francisco. The last flight is on Jan. 6.
Alaska will increase nonstop service to San Diego from three to four times per day on Jan. 7.
Viva (formerly Viva Aerobus)
Viva had been planning to fly nonstop from Austin to Mexico City’s newest airport — Felipe Ángeles — starting in November. The low-cost airline had even started selling tickets.
But a U.S. Department of Transportation order in October canceled that route and 12 others between the U.S. and Ángeles Airport. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it was retaliation for the Mexican government blocking expansion of U.S. flights into Mexico.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from South Texas, said the move is punishing American businesses. She has been urging a resolution to the dispute.
But it’s still unclear when Viva Aerobus flights from Austin to Felipe Ángeles International Airport might be allowed to take off.
Other airlines
Lorianne Willett
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KUT News
Airlines will be making many more smaller tweaks to service throughout 2026.
British Airways is currently flying once daily to London Heathrow on an Airbus A350-1000 with 351 seats. On March 29, that will double to twice daily service.
Copa Airlines added a fifth weekly flight to Panama City, Panama, in December and January. The fifth weekly flight will resume again from April to August.
JetBlue began flying twice daily to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Nov. 20 aboard a 162-seat Airbus A320. That service will be reduced to once daily from Jan. 7 to Feb. 11.
