Here are the new nonstop flights coming to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in 2024
Editor's Note: The above video highlights Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's busiest days.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As what is likely to be a record-breaking year at Austin airport draws to a close, we're looking ahead to 2024 to see what new options passengers will have.
Eight new flights have already been scheduled from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in the new year: four seasonal and four year-round.
Southwest Airlines will kick things off on March 9, with a new nonstop route to San Juan, Puerto Rico. American Airlines previously operated this route, but canceled it in November 2022, saying it did not meet performance expectations.
Also in March, low-cost Mexican airline Viva Aerobus will launch service to Monterrey, picking up a route that Spirit Airlines dropped in September citing low demand.
In April, Delta will launch three new routes from AUS, to McAllen, Midland/Odessa and Nashville. In a press release announcing the new routes, Delta said it was "positioning Austin as a key access point" for the first time.
Another new international route will begin flights in May, with Air Canada providing service to Montreal, a brand new route for AUS. Later in the month, another new route will launch, with Allegiant Air flying to Eugene, Oregon. Then in June, Southwest will begin seasonal service to Boston.
"The airport continues to seek routes that meet the needs of our passengers," a spokesperson told KXAN. "The focus is to add or increase routes that match the market demand for our area."
Airport officials have a list of top priority routes they'd like to see from AUS, including Asia, South America, Europe and Mexico, as well as leisure destinations in Central America and the Caribbean.
A memo from 2021 listed the international priority routes as Amsterdam, Beijing, Dublin, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo. Dutch airline KLM began direct flights to Amsterdam in March 2022.
Nonstop flights to Paris nearly came to fruition. Norwegian Air announced in October 2019 it would begin service in May 2020, but the route was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline later announced it would not start the route at a later date, saying it wanted to focus on shorter flights within Europe.
Canceled routes in 2024
It's not all expansion and growth at AUS, however. Nineteen routes will end service in 2024. British airline Virgin Atlantic Airways will cease service to London Heathrow on Jan. 7 due to "persistent softening in corporate demand." Rival British Airways will continue the route.
American Airlines will cancel 18 nonstop routes from AUS between January and April, including six not offered by any other airline: Memphis, Tennessee; Vail, Colorado; Fort Myers, Florida; Nassau, Bahamas; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Liberia, Costa Rica.
Three additional seasonal routes will also not resume: Destin, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
"Austin remains an important market for American as we continuously evaluate our network," airline spokesperson Frankie McLister told KXAN in a statement.