Why Southwest Just Made Nashville #1 Fastest-Growing Airport: +2,250 Flights

Southwest Airlines made a wave of schedule changes for Q3 that pushed Nashville International Airport (BNA) to the No. 1 spot for added departures in the carrier’s network. Compared with the same time last year, Southwest will add 24 additional daily departures. The increase is largely frequency growth on existing routes, with only two new routes added this year from Nashville: Knoxville (TYS) and Little Rock (LIT). Southwest also cut three services from the market: Orange County (SNA), Portland (PDX) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD). Overall, the airline plans 17,042 flights in Q3 2026, up 15.2% from 14,792 in Q3 2025, with the biggest surge at Greenville–Spartanburg (GSP).