BELLINGHAM — An online petition seeking the return of Southwest Airlines to Bellingham International Airport recently surpassed 5,000 signatures, and officials at the Port of Bellingham, which oversees airport operations, are open to the idea.
The airline announced its departure in April, citing poor first-quarter 2024 financial results that showed a net loss of $231 million.
Southwest was one of four airlines operating out of Bellingham at the time, along with Alaska Airlines, Allegiant and San Juan Airlines. The other three still serve Bellingham, and port officials said in May they were actively pursuing a replacement for Southwest, which officially ended service out of Bellingham in August.
A Change.org petition calling on Southwest to return was launched by Anneke Palmerton and published April 27, two days after the departure announcement. The petition listed 5,098 signatures as of Oct. 30.
Assuming the petition is successful, how complicated would it be for Southwest to return, and would the port even allow it?
“Absolutely,” Port of Bellingham Executive Director Rob Fix said in an email to The Herald. “And the port has made sure to communicate that to Southwest Airlines. … Southwest Airlines and its non-stop flights from Bellingham to Denver, Las Vegas and Oakland were extremely popular, with high load factors and continued overall growth. Unfortunately, Southwest left Bellingham to make system-wide adjustments in response to delays in the delivery of jets from Boeing.”
If Southwest did decide to return to Bellingham’s airport, the process may only take a few weeks.
“Bellingham International Airport has the gate capacity and office space to get a new airline up and running very quickly,” Fix said. “Depending on an airline’s needs, BLI could be ready to handle new service within a couple of weeks. However, in our experience the airlines tend to take much longer to schedule and ramp up operations, sometimes announcing new service a full year in advance before starting that service.”
The port’s staff also meets regularly with various airlines to discuss expanding air service options, Fix said.
