The Texas-headquartered airline, Southwest, will soon become the first carrier to connect Tennessee with Costa Rica, marking a milestone in the country’s aviation history.

Beginning March 7, 2026, Southwest will operate Saturday-only nonstop flights between Nashville International Airport (BNA) and Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

According to the airline, flights will depart Nashville every Saturday at 9:05 a.m. (CT), arriving in Costa Rica at 1:05 p.m. local time. The return service will leave SJO at 3:05 p.m. local time, arriving in Nashville at 7:00 p.m. (CT). Both flights will be operated with a Boeing 737 aircraft, configured to seat 149 passengers.

Southwest, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, first launched service to Costa Rica in 2015. The carrier said more details about the new Tennessee–Costa Rica route will be available soon on its official website.

The move comes as more airlines expand service to Costa Rica. In July, WestJet Airlines, a Canadian carrier based in Calgary, announced two new nonstop routes between Canada and Costa Rica.

Tourism remains one of Costa Rica’s largest industries. More than 1.4 million travelers arrived by air in the first half of this year, according to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute.

In 2024, the country welcomed over 2.6 million international air arrivals, a 7% increase from the previous year.

The sector also generated more than $5.4 billion in foreign exchange earnings in 2024, according to the Central Bank of Costa Rica.

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