Southwest Airlines is planning a big fall push in the Caribbean, with the relaunch of five nonstop routes to popular destinations in the wider Caribbean, Caribbean Journal has learned.
That will kick off this fall, when Southwest relaunches seasonal weekend nonstop service between Nashville and Cancun, Mexico. That route will restart on Oct. 5.
On the same day, Southwest Airlines is resuming seasonal nonstop service between Phoenix and Cancun.
That’s along with two more popular routes to Cancun: nonstop flights from both Atlanta and San Antonio to the Mexican Caribbean hotspot.
The most notable relaunch? Weekly Saturday service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
The relaunches came as part of an update to Southwest’s flight schedule through November 2024.
All of those flights are now bookable.
Both Cancun and Jamaica have been seeing surging growth in the post-pandemic period; while Cancun’s renaissance began right when people began traveling again, Jamaica’s growth really began sizzling in 2022.
That led to record-breaking visitor arrivals to the island in 2023, according to a new report from the country’s Ministry of Tourism.
The growth is particularly strong in Montego Bay, traditionally the country’s tourism hotspot and now seeing renewed growth, including the recent debut of a new hotel in the heart of the popular “hip strip.”
That’s along with Montego Bay’s recently-revamped Sangster International Airport, which now includes the world’s first-ever Bob Marley-branded restaurant.