Southwest Cancels Las Vegas–Costa Rica Flight Before It Ever Took Off

Southwest Airlines has cancelled its planned Las Vegas–Costa Rica flight before the route ever operated, dropping what would have been the carrier’s longest international service. The airline confirmed yesterday that nonstop service between Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and Juan Santamaría International Airport has been removed from its schedule. All flights have disappeared from the published timetable. Southwest cited elevated fuel costs and a decision to use its aircraft more efficiently. The airline said an overnight international operation ties up a plane for extended periods on the ground in Costa Rica, keeping it out of service elsewhere in the network. Southwest has not said whether the cancellation is permanent. The route was originally announced in February. It was to be the airline’s first international red-eye, departing Las Vegas late at night and arriving in San José the following morning, with a daytime return. At roughly 2,640 miles and just under six hours of block time, it would have been the longest single segment in the Southwest network and the first nonstop link between the two cities.The launch had already slipped once, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, before the flights were removed. Tourism Minister William Rodríguez López welcomed the route in February as a way to reach travelers in the western United States, where nonstop options to Costa Rica are limited. Las Vegas was among the largest unserved Latin American markets from Harry Reid. Despite this setback, the United States remains Costa Rica’s largest source market. Roughly 1.6 million U.S. travelers arrived by air in 2025, close to half of all international arrivals. Southwest’s existing Costa Rica service from other cities in the U.S. is unaffected. The carrier began international flying in 2014 and started San José service from Baltimore/Washington in March 2015, later adding flights from Houston Hobby, Denver, Orlando and Nashville. A Fort Lauderdale route ended in 2020. Liberia joined the network later in 2015. U.S. Department of Transportation figures show Southwest carried roughly 2.7 million passengers to and from Costa Rica between March 2015 and April 2026 — about 1.6 million through San José and 1.1 million through Liberia. The cancellation came alongside a broader schedule announcement that expanded Southwest’s Las Vegas operation. The airline, the busiest carrier at the Las Vegas airport, is adding frequencies to Boston, Miami, Philadelphia and Knoxville, Tennessee, as well as Dallas, Austin, Orlando, Detroit, New York’s LaGuardia, Pensacola, Steamboat Springs and Telluride. New Southwest routes from Las Vegas to Cancún, San José del Cabo and Puerto Vallarta remain scheduled. Travelers holding reservations on the cancelled Las Vegas–Costa Rica flight should contact Southwest directly about rebooking or refunds.