INDIANAPOLIS — The coronavirus pandemic shuttered a popular route out of Indianapolis International Airport in 2020, and now a major mainline carrier hopes to bring it back.
Southwest plans to relaunch once-weekly nonstop flights from Indianapolis each Saturday starting June 10 throughout the first week of November 2023.
"Southwest Airlines will fill a long-standing need for travelers looking for a nonstop flight from Indy to San Diego – which is currently the top unserved destination out of the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). But as of today, that will change as Southwest resumes this in-demand seasonal nonstop flight," Southwest representatives said in a statement announcing the routes on Saturday.
In April, Southwest also resumed its twice-daily nonstop flights from Indy to Kansas City, which the airline said was partially the result of a local, corporate push to make daily nonstop air travel available for Indy-based business operations.
“As predicted, air travel is resuming in 2023 to nearly pre-pandemic levels, and these crucial nonstop flight resumptions are proof of that rebound,” said Mario Rodriguez, executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority. “And while we’re still seeing leisure travel making up the biggest portion of air travel, we are also seeing business travel start to shake off the impact of the pandemic and return closer to 2019 levels.”
Southwest offers more flights in and out of IND than any other airline.
In addition to Kansas City and San Diego resumptions, Southwest currently serves 16 nonstop destinations from Indy to Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Cancun, Dallas, Denver, Panama City, Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Houston, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, Phoenix, Sarasota-Bradenton and Tampa.
