Travelers flying out of Oakland International Airport will have another destination available starting in September.
Southwest Airlines will operate a new route between Oakland and Baltimore, Maryland, starting Sept. 5, according to a news release.
Southwest will also increase the frequency of its direct route to Nashville, Tennessee, in September to five times a week.
“Oakland International Airport is proud to announce the addition of these key transcontinental flights. Both destinations are in high demand here in the Bay Area across both leisure and business markets,” said Bryant L. Francis, director of aviation at the Port of Oakland.
Oakland International hasn’t had nonstop service to Baltimore since December 2020, according to the release.
The new Southwest flights will be aboard Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets fueled by sustainable aviation fuel, known as SAF.
Sustainable aviation fuel has a smaller carbon footprint and is part of a collaboration between aviation stakeholders and the federal government to create more sustainable jet fuel, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, one of the agencies involved.
Oakland International Airport is the third airport in the country to incorporate sustainable aviation fuel as part of its daily operations, according to the release.
The flights to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport will be run daily. Eastbound flights will depart Oakland at 11:10 a.m. and arrive at 7:20 p.m. in Baltimore, and westbound flights will depart Baltimore-Washington International at 10:05 a.m. and arrive in Oakland at 12:50 p.m.