SW Airlines sues city of San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News says Southwest Airlines sued the city and its airport director late Thursday in an effort to stop a new airline lease agreement from taking effect at San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday. The Dallas-based airline’s federal lawsuit accuses airport officials of an unfair “bait and switch” in negotiations for a 10-year lease agreement, which City Council approved earlier this month. Southwest and the San Antonio airport are fighting over the lease agreement because it would keep the airline out of the planned Terminal C, a $1.7 billion, 17-gate facility that’s slated to open in 2028. The airline instead would be the sole tenant of the cramped Terminal A.

Southwest is seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the current lease agreement in place for the time being. A hearing on the matter is set for Monday afternoon in San Antonio federal court. If a judge doesn’t grant a TRO — and if Southwest doesn’t sign the new lease — Southwest will operate at the airport on a month-to-month basis, incurring higher fees. It will also lose out on a revenue-sharing arrangement that eight other airlines, which have agreed to sign the new lease, will benefit from. In the suit, Southwest claims Airport Director Jesus Saenz verbally committed to the airline that it would get all, or most, of the 10 gates it requested in Terminal C. But in May, the airline alleges, Southwest was relegated to Terminal A, the oldest facility on the airport’s property.