Southwest files lawsuit against city of San Antonio over gate allocation dispute

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines filed a lawsuit Thursday against the city of San Antonio over the airline’s exclusion from a new $1.4 billion terminal being built at San Antonio International Airport.
In the lawsuit, Southwest alleges “unlawful use of subjective evaluation criteria … resulting in the exclusion of Southwest, which is the largest air carrier at SAT by passenger volume, from the new passenger terminal gates being constructed at SAT.”
The Dallas-based airline is seeking an injunction before the airport’s new lease agreement with seven other airlines goes into effect on Oct. 1. The lawsuit said the agreement would complicate Southwest’s push for gates in the planned Terminal C at the airport.
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According to the filing, the new Terminal C is expected to open in 2028 and cost $1.4 billion to build. The new space will be 30% larger than the existing terminals at the airport combined.
“While this is by no means preferred, the City unjustly discriminated against Southwest, leaving the airline no other choice,” Southwest spokesperson Chris Perry said in an email. “Southwest Airlines values its relationship with San Antonio and remains hopeful that the airline and the City can agree on a plan that accommodates our future growth and treats us equal to the other carriers.”
San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh was part of the San Antonio delegation that met with Southwest leadership in Dallas earlier this week.
“As the fastest growing city in America, we remain committed to doing what is best for San Antonio International Airport and the millions of passengers that use it each year,” Walsh said in a statement. “The airline agreement is the foundation of our Terminal Development Program, and Southwest’s actions could have the effect of halting our progress and keeping the airport the way it is.”
Southwest had been negotiating with San Antonio to renew their lease at the airport for two years with the expectation that they would move their operations from Terminal A to the new terminal once it opened, according to the lawsuit. San Antonio first informed the airline that they would have to remain in Terminal A in May of this year in what the filing calls “an unfair ‘bait and switch.’”
“Southwest had no realistic option but to decline to sign a new Lease at SAT because of its strong objection to the City’s unfair treatment of Southwest. Southwest could not agree to conditions that would harm its ability to compete on an even playing field against other airlines,” according to the filing.
Earlier this week, Southwest declined the latest offer from San Antonio in a meeting between city officials and Southwest leadership at the airline’s Dallas office. The offer kept Southwest in Terminal A but came with a pledge of $300 million in renovations to the existing terminal.
If Southwest fails to reach an agreement with the airport, they would become a non-signatory airline and pay higher rates than those who have signed the lease agreement. Southwest executives have said they have no intention of leaving San Antonio regardless, according to Walsh.