Nonstop Orlando flights are back in Brownsville — and off to a strong start

Breeze Airways’ new nonstop service between Brownsville and Orlando is showing encouraging early demand, giving Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport a stronger start on a route that another airline abandoned in 2024.

Approximately 2,800 passengers traveled on the Breeze route during its first three months, according to Faisal Khalifa, interim director of the Brownsville airport.

“Approximately 2,800 passengers have flown,” Khalifa said. “This is a weekly flight, so it’s inbound and outbound. It’s really strong numbers. We’re talking load factors at nearly 90% during the peak holiday season. We’ve had capacities at 100% outbound and inbound.”

The passenger total includes travelers flying in both directions. The reported load factors apply to peak travel periods and should not be interpreted as the route’s average performance across every flight.

Breeze began the Brownsville-Orlando service May 15. It operates flights on Mondays and Fridays, providing travelers with options for shorter trips and extended stays.

The route is serving leisure and business travelers. Families can use the nonstop connection for vacations and visits to Orlando’s attractions, while professionals working in the space industry can travel between South Texas and Florida without connecting through another airport.

The early performance is significant because this is Brownsville’s second attempt in three years to sustain nonstop service to Orlando.

Avelo Airlines began offering nonstop flights between Brownsville and Orlando in May 2023, with introductory one-way fares starting at $69. The airline announced in July 2024 that it was ending its Brownsville service after determining that its routes from the city were not profitable.

Brownsville City Commissioner Tino Villarreal previously told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal that Avelo’s passenger numbers increased during peak periods but weakened during slower parts of the year.

“We learned a lot,” Villarreal said at the time. “I thought it was really good, we saw good numbers and spikes during peak times. But during non-peak times, it just became a little too much for us to handle as a city. It wasn’t beneficial for them or us to have this massive airliner and not even be able to fill half of the plane.”

Aircraft size was one reason Brownsville officials were willing to try the Orlando route again.

Avelo operated Boeing 737 aircraft, some of which could accommodate more than 180 passengers. Breeze operates the route with an Airbus A220-300 configured for 137 passengers, giving it fewer seats to fill on each flight.

The region’s expanding space industry also gave airport officials another potential source of demand.

Villarreal previously said SpaceX had indicated that its employees would be interested in the connection and had offered to incorporate the flight into its employee portal. Brownsville and Orlando provide access to two regions with major space-industry operations.

“The last thing you want to do is bring in another airline that might struggle to fill and be a bust,” Villarreal previously said. “So you really have to take that into consideration. So having that SpaceX factor and a smaller, comfortable aircraft, I think it could work. So that’s why we took that chance again.”

Editor’s note: For a look at how passenger traffic has changed across Rio Grande Valley airports, explore the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal’s airport enplanement data, tracking annual passenger boardings from 2015 through 2025.