Federal judge tosses Southwest Airlines' legal filing over San Antonio airport

Southwest sued San Antonio because it wants to jump to the airport's newest terminal rather than stay in an aging one.

click to enlarge Southwest Airlines isn't happy with its location inside San Antonio International Airport. - City of San Antonio
City of San Antonio
Southwest Airlines isn't happy with its location inside San Antonio International Airport.
Looks like Southwest Airlines may have to be satisfied flying out of San Antonio International Airport's aging Terminal A — at least for now.

A San Antonio federal judge on Monday threw out the air carrier's motion seeking a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the city from entering a new 10-year lease agreement with eight airlines, according to a KSAT report.

Judge Xavier Rodriguez's ruling means the leases will go into effect Tuesday.

Dallas-based Southwest last week filed a suit against the city and Airport Director Jesus Saenz, alleging the city official promised the airline space in Terminal C, a $1.7 million airport addition scheduled to open in 2028.

Instead of getting space in the newer terminal, the city's last lease agreement would put Southwest in Terminal A as its sole tenant. Although the city reportedly offered to spend $300 million in renovations for terminal A, Southwest officials considered the move a betrayal.

Although Rodriguez rejected Southwest's TRO, the airline is still suing the city over not getting space in Terminal C.

Even so, without the TRO, Southwest will either have to abide by the existing leasing agreement or begin racking up higher fees while losing out on revenue-sharing deals, according to the Express-News.

Stay tuned.

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Michael Karlis

Michael Karlis is a Staff Writer at the San Antonio Current. He is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., whose work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Orlando Weekly, NewsBreak, 420 Magazine and Mexico Travel Today. He reports primarily on breaking news, politics...

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