Southwest to Cut 7 Routes from St. Louis Airport

Southwest Airlines is cutting seven nonstop routes from St. Louis Lambert International Airport between July and September, a move that will remove direct service to several Midwestern and Western cities.

The affected destinations are Des Moines, Little Rock, Tulsa, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Long Beach and San Jose. Travelers who previously used those nonstop flights will need to look at one-stop itineraries or other options in Southwest's network.

What is changing

The route removals cover flights that were previously served from STL during the summer window. Southwest told PEOPLE that it ended the seven nonstop routes from St. Louis, but added service elsewhere in the network to offset the change.

The airline said the added options include Chicago Midway-Des Moines, Chicago Midway-Tulsa, Chicago Midway-Wichita, Dallas-Oklahoma City and Nashville-Little Rock. Southwest said those alternative routes were not previously served before this change.

What it means for travelers

For St. Louis passengers, the immediate impact is fewer direct choices out of the airport and more trips that connect through another city.

Southwest said customers in St. Louis can still reach the dropped destinations with one-stop service, but the change signals a shift in how the airline is allocating capacity rather than keeping every historic nonstop in place.

It is not yet clear whether the STL reductions are temporary schedule gaps or a longer-term network reset.