Above: Tortuga Bay in Punta Cana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Southwest Airlines’ AirTran Airways will be adding new nonstop service from Chicago to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

The nonstop flights will service Montego Bay in Jamaica and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The flights will begin in the spring, subject to governmental approvals, Southwest said in a release.

The Montego Bay flights, which will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, will launch Apr. 14. The Punta Cana flights will begin May 19, operating four days per week.

“These new international markets make sense for our Chicagoland Customers as we approach connecting the Southwest and AirTran route networks in the coming months,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and AirTran Airways President.  “AirTran and Southwest serve more than 60 destinations nonstop from Chicago and these additions open up new international options for those customers.”

AirTran is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest.