AUSTIN, Texas — Southwest Airlines is closing its flight attendant hub in Austin.
The airline confirmed to KVUE on Thursday that it will be closing its Austin satellite base on July 1 as part of an effort to consolidate its staff throughout the country.
Although none of the airline’s pilots are based in Austin, it does have around 150 flight attendants based in town. The airline said the flight attendants affected by the closure will be transferred to one of the airline’s 12 primary bases located across the US.
A spokesperson for Southwest provided the following statement Thursday afternoon:
We are consolidating our Flight Attendant satellite bases into our primary 12 base cities as we work to further maximize our operational efficiency and reliability. This change will ultimately help strengthen our Crew network and support a more reliable operation for our Employees and Customers.
A spokesperson for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) told KVUE that the closure of the base should not affect flight operations.