FAQ/International Travel: During Your Flight

When booking a reservation, you can provide a preferred method if contact (i.e., SMS text or email) to receive important day-of-travel notifications (i.e., delays/cancellations). If you prefer to not receive these messages, you can opt out during the booking process. Also, friends and family members can sign up to receive flight status notifications for international itineraries.

Documentation required to travel to foreign countries and/or re-enter the United States varies by country. Find out what you need to verify by visiting our International Travel page and enter your origin/destination for documentation requirements specific to your itinerary. A valid passport book is always required for international travel, in addition to other documentation based on your destination.

If any portion of your itinerary contains an international flight and you plan to check luggage, you will be required to do so at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter upon arrival at the airport. Connecting Passengers must claim all luggage, regardless of final destination, upon arrival in the U.S. After clearing Customs, connecting Passengers who aren’t originating from preclear cities will then be required to re-check all checked luggage with a Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent before proceeding to connecting flight(s). Baggage for international flights will not be accepted if presented less than 60 minutes prior to scheduled departure. For flights departing Aruba (AUA), baggage will not be accepted if presented less than 75 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Passengers cannot voluntarily separate from luggage on international flights.

No. If you are traveling on an itinerary that includes at least one international leg, you must check in at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter or kiosk in order to have your passport verified, check luggage, and receive your boarding pass. You may not utilize curbside check in for itineraries that include international flights.

With the exception of Nassau and Havana, kiosks will be available in all other non-U.S. airport locations.

When departing on an international flight from an airport within the domestic U.S., you will be able to check in, scan your passport, add emergency contact information, and print your boarding pass for both the domestic and international legs of your trip at a kiosk. You will not be able to upgrade or change international flights using a kiosk, but a Customer Service Agent at the Ticket Counter or gate podium can assist with these requests.

At this time, Express Bag Drop will not be available at Southwest Airlines Ticket Counters in non-U.S. airport locations.

Airport arrival and baggage check-in times may vary depending on location. However, the recommended airport arrival time is 120 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of your flight and the recommended baggage check time is 90 minutes prior to the scheduled departure.

If your itinerary includes at least one international leg, you must check in at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to the departure time of the first flight in your itinerary. Remember, you will be required to check in at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter or kiosk to have your passport verified, receive your boarding pass, and check luggage.

Your Known Traveler Number may be added via Southwest.com or by calling 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792).

Yes. For more information, view our video on how to board the Southwest way in English or Spanish.

WiFi is available for many of our international flights. Please note that we may not have coverage for the duration of certain international flights.

Due to licensing regulations for each channel, free live TV may not be available for the duration of flights to/from our international destinations.

If your international flight itinerary has been impacted by circumstances beyond Southwest’s control (weather, etc,), you may be eligible to change your travel date/time at no additional cost, but you must contact Customer Service via phone in order to do so. For calls from the U.S., contact Customer Service at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792).

Jet bridges are not available in all Southwest cities. Customers may have to board and deplane the aircraft through the use of air stairs. Also, in some cities, Customers may have to travel between the terminal and the aircraft onboard buses. Buses will be used to transport Passengers from the terminal to the plane-side, where they will board via air stairs. Boarding the bus will occur at ground-level, and Passengers will be dropped off at the base of the air stairs.

For a complete list of the cities that may not have level-entry boarding or that may require transfer via bus or to learn more about requesting assistance and accessibility in boarding the aircraft, please visit our Customers with Disabilities page.

Southwest encourages Customers traveling internationally to subscribe to Flight Status Messaging to receive updates via email or text for international itineraries. Please read the Conditions of Use prior to subscribing.

In addition, Southwest may send flight status updates to the email address that you provided when you booked your original reservation. While we encourage Customers to stay opted in to receive notifications, to opt out of email messaging you may call a Southwest Airlines Representative toll free at any time at the numbers listed below.

Liability limits for loss, delay or damage to checked baggage on international itineraries is limited to 1,131 Special Drawing Rights (“SDR”). For more information, see Southwest Airlines Contract of Carriage.

Baggage claim payments are typically made in the form of a check in U.S. dollars, which is mailed to the address designated by you when settling the claim with our Baggage Service Office. If you wish to receive your claim payment in local currency, you must go to the airport in the applicable country to receive your cash payment in-person. Local currency refunds are not available in the following countries: Aruba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and The Bahamas.

Southwest does its best to operate our flights as scheduled. Sometimes, events beyond our control or situations we could not anticipate prevent us from doing so and when this happens we note that the flight is subject to irregular operations. If your Southwest Airlines flight does not operate as scheduled due to irregular operations, your reservation may be modified subject to applicable Terms & Conditions without additional charges by contacting a Southwest Airlines Representative at 1-800-435-9792.