airtran

In recent weeks, Southwest Airlines — the largest carrier at Baltimore's "easy come, easy go"-branded airport — has run into major peak-hour congestion problems, with summer vacationers tripping over business travelers in ticketing and security lines.

Officials at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport have introduced morning closures at one of the airport's main security gates, citing congestion around Southwest Airline's busy ticketing counters, according to airport, airline and Transportation Security Administration officials.

An elaborate sendoff for three Southwest Airlines flights to the Caribbean from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport on Tuesday morning will mark the official entry of the largest domestic carrier in the United States into the international airline market. It will also signal the growing Anne Arundel County airport's hopeful ascendance as a major hub for domestic travelers looking to hop overseas.

Flights from Baltimore to Cancun will be offered under the Southwest Airlines banner starting in August, as the airline continues to rebrand routes formerly flown under AirTran Airways.

Despite a slight decline in overall traffic at BWI Airport in 2013, international passengers increased by nearly 20 percent for the second straight year, airport officials said Monday.

Southwest Airlines will begin offering non-stop flights between Baltimore and Dallas in October, the airline said Monday.

Southwest Airlines has won 54 slots recently vacated amid federal litigation at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, expanding its already-large presence in the region.

Southwest Airlines planes will make their first international flights July 1, including flights between Baltimore and Aruba, the Bahamas and Jamaica, with more destinations to be added as the carrier assumes routes flown by subsidiary AirTran by the end of the year.

Trusted fliers using Southwest Airlines out of BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport will now have a quicker and less invasive path through security, the Transportation Security Administration announced Thursday.

Audrey Stone, 36, doesn't hesitate when asked how long current contract negotiations will last between Southwest Airlines and the flight attendants union she leads. "As long as it takes," she says on a recent morning in a small cafe in Baltimore — a city she has called home since 2004.

A Texas man was indicted in federal court Thursday amid accusations he unsuccessfully tried to open the emergency hatch on an in-air flight from Baltimore to Austin earlier this week, prosecutors said.

Airport competition

Where was the government's outrage when Southwest and AirTran merged two years ago?

The O'Malley administration is launching a three-year, $125 million construction project that will set the table for more international flights from BWI Marshall Airport.

With the unveiling this week of blueprints for a $156 million international terminal at Houston's Hobby International Airport, Southwest signaled its commitment to go beyond its domestic low-cost image and get into the global game. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the third-busiest for Southwest and top performer on the East Coast, is ready to be part of that commitment.

Temporary checkpoint closures set this week at BWI

Southwest Airlines was fined $150,000 Wednesday for failing to respond to consumer complaints in a timely fashion, the Department of Transportation announced.

The first phase of BWI Marshall Airport's $100 million upgrade to the oldest part of the terminal opened Tuesday morning, with nine new security check stations and a broad walkway to speed passengers making connections among three concourses.

Higher airfares and lower fuel prices combined to give Southwest Airlines $59 million in first-quarter net profits, or 8 cents a share, beating Wall Street's predictions.

Southwest Airlines new flights

Frustrated travelers reported long lines at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Friday morning, as crowds jammed into terminals on their way out of town as local schools prepared to let out for spring break.

Tony Pann's celebrity traveler tips

For the third consecutive year, BWI Marshall Airport has set a record for passenger traffic. In 2012, the airport handled 22.68 million passengers, a 1.3 percent increase over 2011 totals.

Ravens defensive end chills on the beach in his off-season.

More Maryland residents are planning holiday trips than last year, and most are traveling by automobile despite local gas prices that are the highest they have ever been at this time of year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

BWI Marshall is spending more than a half-billion dollars on terminal expansion and runway improvements to stay ahead of the competition

BWI Marshall Airport begins new security screening, prepares to reopen its longest runway as holiday season approaches

Transportation creeps back after Sandy slams area.

Southwest and AirTran to begin flights to Dominican Republic and Flint, Mich.

Southwest Airlines and the union representing 8,500 ground employees have asked the National Mediation Board to assist in contract talks after 14 months of negotiations failed to produce a deal.

Boog Powell, celebrity traveler

Thanksgiving airfare bargain hunters will have to begin looking especially early this year.

Southwest Airlines and subsidiary AirTran Airways announced Wednesday that they will add as many as four daily nonstop flights between BWI Marshall Airport and Fort Lauderdale, beginning Sept. 6.

A week after heralding the arrival of two airlines to the fold, BWI Marshall Airport is dealing with the loss of Southwest Airlines' three daily nonstop flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Spirit Airlines and Condor Airlines announce new service from BWI.

For the first time in nearly two decades, Southwest Airlines, the biggest commercial carrier at BWI Marshall Airport, does not sit atop the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index.

For 72 hours only, Southwest Airlines is offering a fall fare sale with one-way nonstop flights starting at $49.

Work has begun on a $100 million upgrade of the oldest portion of BWI to streamline security screening and allow passengers to move among the three busiest concourses without having to pass through security a second time.

The team promoting Baltimore's Grand Prix — a group announced by city officials this week following the collapse of two other race organizers — has fewer than four months to hawk sponsorships, market the event, sell tickets and set up the race course and grandstands.

Southwest rolls out its new Boeing 737-800 series jet with fanfare at BWI.

BWI will be one of the first airports to get new jets from Southwest.

For second year in a row, BWI sets passenger record in 2011.

Pre-check program to be expanded to 28 U.S. airports, including BWI.

Flushed with Sunday's victory and with many off work for Monday's holiday, Ravens fans have started planning their next offensive: Foxborough or bust.

10 things holiday travelers needs to know before you go to BWI

State approves a $100 million renovation of BWI Airport.

American Airlines' filing for a Chapter 11 reorganization leaves Southwest as the only major airline that has not filed for bankruptcy.