Omaha has record capacity; welcomes 5 new routes; Southwest Airlines top carrier
Nebraska has nine airports with scheduled service. Naturally, Omaha – the state’s most populous city – is by far the highest-trafficked of them. In 2025, 5.2 million passengers travelled through its doors, accounting for 90% or so of Nebraska’s total traffic.
Southwest is the largest airline
Seven passenger operators serve Omaha. In the second half of 2026 (July to December), Cirium schedule data shows they have 1.8 million one-way seats, up 3% year-over-year. It is the highest volume date.
With 671,000, up by 4%, Southwest remains comfortably the largest operator. It has 38% of the capacity, which is, of course, influenced not just by its overall activity but also by higher gauge 737s. While it is also first for flights, it only has 29% of them.
Southwest has 14 routes in the examined period: Austin, Chicago MDW, Dallas DAL, Denver, Houston HOU, Las Vegas, Nashville, New York LGA (started on 5 March 2026; daily), Orlando, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Diego, Tampa and Washington DCA. Southwest coexists with Delta to LGA and replaced American (its last flight was in September 2025). On 13 March 2027, the airline will begin flying to Fort Myers (weekly).
United has grown strongly, with 9% more seats compared to the last six months of last year. United has five routes: Chicago ORD, Denver, Houston IAH, Newark (started on 24 September 2025; daily) and San Francisco. Most incumbent routes have more capacity year-over-year, especially ORD (+15%), due to departures rising to 6-daily.
With 18% more seats, ULCC Allegiant has grown more than all other operators. It has nine routes: Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Fort Lauderdale (launches on 2 October 2026; 2-weekly), Gulf Shores (began on 21 May 2026; 2-weekly), Las Vegas, Orlando SFB, Phoenix AZA, Punta Gorda, Sarasota and Tampa PIE. Compared to a year ago, Los Angeles is no longer served.
Denver is the top market
In the final half of 2026, Omaha has flights to 36 airports, all of which are domestic. The most recent international operation was in 2019, when Air Canada flew from Toronto YYZ.
Omaha’s 36 destinations are in 20 states, with Alabama and New Jersey being new. The most capacity is available to Illinois (287,000 one-way seats), followed by Colorado (262,000) and Texas (242,000).
Gulf Shoes is a brand-new destination from Omaha. Meanwhile, Fort Myers returns for first time since 2022, when ULCC Frontier served it, while Newark is back after a six-year absence. Fort Lauderdale, which has only been served since 2024, has two airlines for the first time.
With 262,000 one-way seats, up 1%, Denver remains the most-served market from Omaha. 68-weekly flights are available in October, which are provided by United (39), Southwest (25) and Frontier (4). This is the only airport pair to have more than two operators. Of course, a considerable number of passengers connect in Denver, although it varies greatly by the airline. 73% do so with United, 61% with Southwest and 44% with Frontier.
