Southwest Airlines is set to modify its service offerings on Hawaii's Big Island. The airline, based in Dallas, has announced plans to discontinue its route from Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK). This change will take effect on March 5, 2025, as initially reported by Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a spokesperson for the airline.
The Kona-to-Oakland route was introduced in January 2020 as part of Southwest's initial expansion into Hawaii. Despite this cutback, the airline will introduce a new service from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to KOA starting March 6, 2025. The last time Southwest operated flights from Sacramento to Kona was during the summer of 2022 with a once-weekly service.
In response to these changes, Southwest stated that "we're meeting Customer demand and maturing our Hawaii service as we surpass five years of proudly serving the Hawaiian Islands with interisland and Mainland connectivity."