How To Cancel A Southwest Airlines Flight

By Alexi John

Updated on 02 Jul 2026, 12:12 PM

Southwest Airlines is one of the supreme American-based airlines headquartered in Dallas, Texas. With the lowest-cost Southwest airline reservations, this airline covers more than 130 destinations on both domestic and international routes. 

However, Southwest Airlines is known for its high-end yet affordable travel options, there can be some unexpected circumstances that may force you to cancel your flight. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to cancel your reservation, do not worry. There is a Southwest flight cancellation policy in place that you need to be aware of before booking. 

What is Southwest Flight Cancellation Policy? 

According to the Southwest flight ticket cancellation policy, you are free to cancel including your tickets hassle-free. Check out the important highlights from the Southwest flight cancellation policy below. 

• Southwest Airlines offers three kinds of fares to its passengers - Wanna Get Away, Anytime, and Business Select. Wanna Get Away tickets can be reusable but not refundable. On the other hand, Anytime, and Business Select fares are fully completely refundable as well as reusable. 
• As per the cancellation policy, all three fares mentioned above can be used for a future trip of up to one year from the original date of ticket purchase.
• Fares are reusable and refundable as long as they are canceled under the Southwest cancellation policy. In this, your flight needs to be canceled at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure. 
• In the case of “Anytime” and “Business” tickets, Passengers have the option to receive a full refund in the original form of payment or credit funds for future reservations. 
• While canceling your southwest flight with fare points, the remaining balance will be credited back to your account. 

How to cancel a flight on Southwest Airlines? 

If you don’t wish to fly again but simply want your money back by canceling your flight, Southwest Airlines stood at the top among many airlines with its customer-friendly flight changes and cancellations policies. In this section, we are going to discuss different procedures to cancel your Southwest flight. 

Method 1 - How To Cancel your Southwest Airline Reservations Via the website 

Follow the steps below to cancel your Southwest Airlines ticket via the airline’s official website. 

• First - Navigate through Southwest.com on your desktop.
• Second - Select “look up reservation” in the menu.
• Third - Enter the six-digit confirmation number and your name in the required field. 
• Fourth - you will see available travel funds and refund balance attached to your booking confirmation you have entered. 
• Sixth - if you have flight cancellation refund value available, you are free to receive a refund or convert the airfare into travel funds. 
• Seventh - Now, click on the “Cancel Flight” button to cancel your flight.
• Eighth - As per the Southwest Airlines reservations cancellation terms and conditions, fare refunds may take billing cycles to process the amount into your account. 

Method 2 - How To Cancel your Southwest Airlines flight via Phone 

Passengers can cancel their flight hassle-free and make a refund request easily over the phone as follows - 

• First - Dial the Southwest Airlines flight cancellation department phone number.
• Second - Keep your six-digit confirmation code along with your name in order to retrieve your reservation.
• Third - Ask the travel expert to cancel your booking. Also, keep a check on the travel funds or refundable value associated with your booking. 
• Fourth - According to the flight cancellation policy, refunds may take one to two billing cycles to process the amount in the account. 

Tips: If you’re thinking of canceling a reservation just because your name is incorrect, check our change name on Southwest account policy first, as correction may be all you need.

Now that you are aware of the easiest methods to cancel your flight, let’s discuss how you can use your Southwest Airlines travel funds. 

How to use Southwest Airlines Travel Funds? 

In order to access your travel funds, you should know the confirmation number associated with it. Travel funds can be used to buy flight tickets, taxes, and fees. Tickets cannot be purchased for someone else. 

To view the information about your Travel Funds balance and expiry dates, follow the steps below - 

• First, click on “Check Travel Funds” on the official website.
• Enter your first and last name along with your flight confirmation number. 
• Click on the check funds button.

Once you've applied your travel funds to a new reservation, remember that Southwest uses open seating. Your boarding position determines your seat choice. Our Southwest seat selection policy guide breaks down how to get an earlier boarding position and what to expect once you're on board.

Need Help? 

In this post, we have described two major and easiest methods under the Southwest flight cancellation policy. According to them, you can cancel your existing flight via the official website and over the phone hassle-free. However, if you still need help canceling your flight, Our experts at Flying Rules can assist you with the most convenient flight cancellation processes.