Southwest Airlines looks set to open an airport lounge at Orlando International, adding the theme-park capital to the eight locations now in its lounge pipeline. The airline hasn't made it official, but a source at the airline has confirmed the plan, and Orlando airport documents back it up: an April contractor presentation lists "airline club space" on level three of the Airside 2 expansion, where Southwest's main gates sit, and a June solicitation describes a lounge facility with an optional terrace. The expansion budget has even grown from $374 million to $681.9 million, with a premium lounge named in the capital plan.
Southwest has already announced its first four lounges, with construction underway and the first guests expected in late 2027. Austin is getting a 20,000 square foot space above the new security checkpoint (with 40,000 square feet of total lounge rights as the airport grows), Baltimore gets roughly 30,000 square feet, Honolulu takes over the former Garden Conference Center across two levels, and Nashville's 30,000 square foot lounge will sit above Acme Feed & Seed, complete with a bar, buffet, grab-and-go food, a mother's room and a kids' zone featuring a treehouse, climbing wall and floor piano.
Beyond those four, Orlando is one of four further airports where the evidence points to lounges. Denver's CEO comments suggest leased space in the Concourse C East expansion, Dallas Love Field's redevelopment includes lounge shell space (Southwest controls 19 of 20 gates there), and Washington National's Terminal 1 rebuild reserves 10,000 square feet, though that timeline stretches into the 2030s. Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway, Las Vegas, Phoenix and St. Louis are logical future candidates — the sticking point is finding usable space near Southwest's gates in terminals that weren't designed for it.
The Orlando news matters because of who flies there. Southwest is launching a premium Chase credit card in 2027 that will grant lounge access, and Orlando passengers — families heading to or from Disney World and the other theme parks — are exactly the customers the airline wants to win. The open question is guest policy: a card that admits one business traveller is a very different product from one that covers a family of four loaded down with mouse ears, and Southwest hasn't revealed how access will work yet.
For holidaymakers, the practical takeaway is this: from late 2027 you may have a genuine lounge option at a handful of Southwest strongholds, either by paying for the new card or buying in. If you're a frequent Southwest flyer who's long envied the big legacy carriers' club networks, your wait is nearly over — Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu and Nashville are first in line, with Orlando likely close behind.
