This year, 
Alaska Airlines has slashed more than seven nonstop routes from 
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), off the back of five last year. The airline withdrew services to select airports in Texas, Arizona, Utah, New Jersey, and Mexico, as it consolidated operations across its West Coast hubs. This equated to a total of 405 weekly departures, a 13% decrease from the 465 departures in the same period in 2025, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
Alaska Airlines is one of the largest airlines on the US West Coast, and maintains bases at major cities including Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Despite this, San Francisco saw a dramatic drop in the total number of nonstop routes offered by the oneworld carrier.
Seven Routes Cut In San Francisco By Alaska Airlines
Credit: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
In January this year, Alaska Airlines withdrew from operating nonstop domestic flights from San Francisco to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and 
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), due to aircraft availability and competition. As noted by the San Francisco Chronicle, this saw the airline undertake a strategic reallocation of aircraft onto more profitable routes.
Delta Air Lines, Southwest, and 
United Airlines already operate nonstop flights to Austin from San Francisco, while Delta, JetBlue, and United operate to Boston. In March, the airline also shelved its nonstop flights from the Bay Area to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), 
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
Southwest and United already operate on the Burbank route. Meanwhile, American, Frontier, Southwest, and United provide nonstop services to Phoenix, and Delta, Frontier, and United fly to Salt Lake City.
Destination
Domestic / International
End Month
Competition
Austin (AUS)
Domestic
January 2026
Delta, Southwest and United
Boston (BOS)
Domestic
January 2026
Delta, JetBlue and United
Burbank (BUR)
Domestic
March 2026
Southwest and United
Phoenix (PHX)
Domestic
March 2026
American, Frontier, Southwest and United
Salt Lake City (SLC)
Domestic
March 2026
Delta, Frontier and United
Loreto (LTO)
International
April 2026
Left unserved
Newark (EWR)
Domestic
June 2026
United
Loreto & Newark Were Cut Mid-Year
Credit: EQRoy | Shutterstock
The sole international route to be cut from San Francisco by Alaska Airlines this year was its nonstop service to Loreto (LTO) in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The airline operated this route uncontested and has left it to be served nonstop from 
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) year-round, complemented by a seasonal service beginning from San Diego (SAN) this December 19.
Alaska Airlines cut its seasonal service to Loreto as part of a reallocation of its aircraft onto higher-demand, more profitable routes, which enabled the airline to boost its holiday routes to and from Hawaii. The only other US airline operating to Loreto is American Airlines seasonal services from Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).
Newark (EWR) was the seventh route to be cancelled by Alaska Airlines in 2026, with the airline now only serving the Big Apple through its service to New York (JFK). This leaves United as the only airline operating to Newark from San Francisco. Competition on flights to New York JFK is provided by American, Delta, and JetBlue.
Related
Why Is Alaska Airlines Discontinuing 16 Routes In 2026?
The discontinuations should be seen as a reshuffle rather than cuts to capacity.
Alaska Airlines Also Canceled Five SFO Routes In 2025
Credit: Michelangelo DeSantis | Shutterstock
In the last two years, Alaska Airlines has ultimately removed 12 nonstop routes from its San Francisco network. In 2025, the airline cut four domestic routes to Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Tampa (TPA), Washington (IAD), and Chicago (ORD), while permanently axing its international route to Mazatlán (MZT).
Destination
Domestic / International
End Month
Competition
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Domestic
January 2025
JetBlue and United
Tampa (TPA)
Domestic
January 2025
United
Mazatlán (MZT)
International
April 2025
Left unserved
Washington (IAD)
Domestic
August 2025
United
Chicago (ORD)
Domestic
August 2025
American and United
While Alaska has not added any new routes from San Francisco in 2026, it has boosted frequencies on daily nonstop services to Kona (KOA) and Lihue (LIH). These will provide more capacity to the popular Hawaiian islands.