Southwest Airlines cutting routes, moving workers from key base amid activist battle

Southwest Airlines is cutting almost a third of its flights through the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta after pressures from activist investor Elliott Investment Management to return to profitability.
According to Southwest, the number of weekly flights to or from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be cut to 381 from 567, reducing service to 21 cities, originally 37. The union representing Southwest’s flight attendants, Transport Workers Union Local 556, was also told a maximum of 200 flight attendants for the April 2025 bid period would be involuntarily displaced. There are 765 active Southwest flight attendants based in Atlanta. According to the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, the union representing pilots, up to 140 pilots will be displaced.
“We continue to optimize our network to meet customer demand, best utilize our fleet, and maximize revenue opportunities,” Southwest said in a statement. “Decisions like these are difficult for our company because of the effects on our people, but we have a history of more than 53 years of ensuring they are taken care of.”
Southwest will also reduce its number of gates at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport from 18 to 11.
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“We know that this is news none of us wanted to hear,” the pilots union wrote in a memo to members. “It is especially difficult considering that these decisions are not due to the employees of Southwest Airlines, but rather due to management’s inaction.”
Union leaders will be meeting with Southwest in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Bill Bernal, president of TWU Local 556 said the union is “outraged.”
“This is gaslighting at its finest: While Southwest management continued to assure flight attendants of the security and growth of its Atlanta base, promises were broken and now the lives of flight attendants and their families are severely impacted,” Bernal said.
Alison Head is an Atlanta-based flight attendant and member of TWU Local 556′s executive board. She said those impacted will be chosen based on seniority. She said that will create a “ripple effect.”
“The flight attendants see this as a poor management decision,” Head said. “[Southwest] knows that the Atlanta market is huge. Yes, it is the backyard of Delta Air Lines, however, flight attendants are the key to hospitality. We want to treat you with kindness and respect to gain you as a customer. We’ve won over a lot of Delta passengers, so this is a huge hit for us locally, and also, I believe within our system.”
The changes come as Elliott has exerted more pressure on the Dallas-based airline by announcing its decision to call for a proxy fight Tuesday and alerting other shareholders to prepare for what is to come. Elliott first disclosed it had 11% total economic interest in Southwest in June.
Elliott declined to comment on the cuts at Atlanta.
Southwest’s chief operating officer Andrew Watterson warned employees of “difficult decisions” ahead, just a few days ago. Some decisions, Watterson told employees in a video, include plans to bring in more money through changes to its route and flight network.
However, despite the drawback in Atlanta, Southwest is adding more service in Nashville, including flights to six new markets — Albuquerque, Albany, Jackson, Memphis, Providence and Tulsa.
The airline is also adding new red-eye flights: Honolulu to Las Vegas; Honolulu to Phoenix; Kona (Hawaii Island) to Las Vegas; Kahului (Maui) to Las Vegas; and Kahului (Maui) to Phoenix. Red-eye flights had been long rumored for the air carrier, but won’t be operating at Dallas Love Field.
Southwest has an investor day scheduled at its Dallas headquarters Thursday.