Southwest Adding More Nonstop Flights To Popular Destination

Southwest Airlines is adding more non-stop service between Milwaukee and San Diego later this year.

Beginning Oct. 2, Southwest will fly nonstop service between Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport and San Diego International Airport every day except Tuesdays. The carrier will fly Boeing 737s on the route.

“After testing the San Diego route on Saturdays during the last couple of summers, Southwest’s expansion to the West Coast shows that when our community supports new service by booking travel from Milwaukee’s airport, it can help convince airlines to add more flights from MKE,” Airport Director Brian Dranzik said in a statement Thursday.

Southwest is the largest carrier operating out of Milwaukee Mitchell. It will offer non-stop flights to 17 destinations in 2025. In March, the carrier will begin daily non-stop flights to Austin, as well as a number of flights to spring break destinations including Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota and Cancun.

March is regularly the busiest month of the year for the airport as travelers take advantage of spring break flights. The annual seasonal travel has become a boost for the airport’s overall traffic, which has steadily climbed year over year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Traffic grew 5% in 2024 compared to the year prior.