Quote
Originally posted by: jphelan
I understand it was some sort of regulatory obstacle which must have now been lifted.
Exactly so, . . . the legal restriction expires on 13 October.
" . . . the Wright Amendment rules restrict most flights from [Love Field] to Texas and eight nearby states.
The law stems from 1979 -- ultimately referred to as the Wright Amendment for its author, former House Speaker Jim Wright -- and forced [all] flights leaving Love Field to land in Texas or the four states touching it: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. In later years, political interests ushered in exemptions that added Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi and Missouri to the list.
The Wright Amendment was part of a broader effort to help consolidate passenger traffic in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and support the then-fledgling Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) airport. Southwest balked at moving to DFW, and was able to fly from Love Field -- provided that its flights met the terms of the amendment.
Years of contentious debate followed before a compromise [to lift the restrictions] was finally reached in 2006. It called for an 8-year phase-out of the Wright Amendment that would culminate with the lifting of all distance restrictions on Oct. 13, 2014. As part of the compromise, it was agreed that Love Field would be restricted to domestic flights and that its capacity would be capped at 20 gates -- down from 32 at the time of the 2006 agreement."
Ref: USA Today
