Can you cancel Southwest flights? Yes. Southwest Airlines has one of the best cancellation policies among major airlines.

If you're not trying to fly again but simply want your money back, you're at least in a bit of luck. Historically, Southwest stood alone among airlines with its customer-friendly change and cancellation policies. Because of the pandemic, other airlines have improved their flexibility toward flight changes, but even still the Southwest cancellation policy stands out as one of the most flexible.

Here's what you need to know to cancel your own Southwest flight.

How to cancel a Southwest flight

Canceling your Southwest flight is fairly simple. You can go to southwest.com/cancel or look up your reservation in the Southwest mobile app. Enter the ticketed passenger's first name and last name, along with the confirmation number of the reservation.

You can also call the Southwest reservations department at 800-435-9792 or, if you included your Rapid Rewards number on the initial reservation, you can find the flight on your My Account page. Once you've entered your flight information, you'll see any travel balances or refundable amounts attached to the confirmation number.

To cancel the flight, select "Cancel."

How to change or rebook your Southwest Airlines flight

The Southwest Airlines flight change policy is simple: no change fees if you need to modify your flight reservation. You can change your flight as many times as you want, but you'll need to pay the difference if the new flight is more expensive than the original one. If you're booking a last-minute flight, that can be a hefty fee.

To change your Southwest flight, call the reservations department or look up your flight with the confirmation number and passenger information online or on the app.

And keep in mind, that simply wanting to change your flight to a new time isn't sufficient. There needs to be an available seat on another flight, which proved to be a problem during the Great Southwest Meltdown during the 2022 winter holidays. Even though Southwest was willing to put people on new flights at no additional cost to them, there just weren't enough seats on the few planes that were taking off, preventing travelers from getting to their destination until sometimes a week later.

How to get a refund on Southwest Airlines

Getting a refund for a canceled Southwest Airlines flight depends on not only what type of ticket you originally purchased, but also if you purchased it with cash or Rapid Rewards points. Plus, some flight add-ons, like EarlyBird boarding, are nonrefundable. If you cancel a flight where you purchased EarlyBird boarding, the amount you paid for that add-on won't be refunded.

For flights booked with cash

Wanna Get Away tickets are typically the airline's lowest-priced fares, and you'll only receive Southwest travel funds if you decide to cancel. Same goes for the new Wanna Get Away plus fare.

If you prefer to get your money back to the original form of payment rather than as a travel voucher, you'll need to book an Anytime or Business Select ticket from Southwest.