Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Airport (LGB) recently awarded five supplemental flight slots to Southwest Airlines, which today announced new daily, nonstop flights to Albuquerque (ABQ), Colorado Springs (COS) and El Paso (ELP). Seasonal service to Maui (OGG) is also back. Flights go on sale today at southwest.com. 

“Southwest Airlines continues to connect Long Beach to more places, demonstrating our airport’s economic value for tourism and business,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. 

With today’s announcement, air carriers at Long Beach Airport now offer nonstop flights to 22 destinations around the nation, which is more nonstop service than at any time in LGB’s nearly 100-year history. The previous record was 19 nonstop destinations in 2011. 

The seasonal flight to Maui returns to LGB on March 9 with daily, nonstop service. New daily, nonstop flights to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and El Paso, Texas, begin July 11 and begin September 5 to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Nonstop flights to Dallas (DAL) increase to twice per day Sunday through Friday beginning June 4. Southwest Airlines also recently announced new service to Kansas City, Missouri and Orlando, Florida.

“On top of offering one of the easiest and most convenient travel experiences in the country, we now offer more destinations for our travelers than ever before,” said Airport Director Cynthia Guidry.

The five supplemental flight slots were recently added based on the findings of the annual noise budget analysis. To preserve the grandfathered status of the airport's noise ordinance, additional flight slots must be allocated if a sufficient amount of remaining unused noise budget exists such that the noise budget would not be exceeded by increasing the number of flight slots.   

Airport flight slots are awarded based on a waiting list of official requests from current LGB air carriers that have expressed interest in additional service, as well as new entrants interested in starting service at LGB. Four air carriers are currently listed on the waiting list for supplemental flight slots, but Southwest Airlines was the only carrier that requested slots for this opportunity. 

With the addition of the five supplemental slots, Long Beach Airport offers 41 permanent and 17 supplemental flight slots, for a total of 58. Southwest Airlines currently holds 45 flight slots, Delta Air Lines holds seven, Hawaiian Airlines holds two and American Airlines has publicly announced its intention to cease operations at LGB but has not yet officially relinquished its three slots.

Travelers can check out a map of all the nonstop destinations offered from LGB at lgb.org/destinations. 

About the City of Long Beach  
Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health and Human Services; Parks, Recreation and Marine; Development Services; Public Works and more. The City also has a highly respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, 12 libraries, five golf courses, 169 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths and a Bike Share program. 

For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

About Long Beach Airport  
Founded in 1923, Long Beach Airport (LGB) is the oldest airport in California. Among its many awards, LGB was named one of the 2022 Top Ten airports in the country by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. LGB offers non-stop service to several U.S. cities while supporting a healthy general aviation community with more than 300,000 annual operations. The Airport is also a source of substantial economic activity and employment, with the LGB Aviation Complex generating $8.6 billion in economic impact and supporting 46,000 jobs. LGB is a self-supporting enterprise of the City of Long Beach and does not receive local tax dollars. The Airport prides itself in preserving its esteemed historic legacy and maintaining a safe, sustainable, and environmentally responsible operation. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @LGBAirport.