Passengers can check in online, or check luggage and receive boarding passes at the airport up to four hours before departure. Gates open for check in one hour prior to departure. Twenty minutes before departure, passengers can only get boarding passes at the gate.
Passengers must show photo identification when boarding. Customers without a boarding pass or who are away from the gate 10 minutes prior to departure may be denied boarding.
There is no assigned seating on Southwest. Boarding passes include a combination of a letter (A, B, or C) and a number (1 to 60). Passengers use this to line up along numbered posts at the gate, which determines the order for boarding.
Southwest may also deny boarding for safety reasons, government requests or if passengers are disorderly or wearing inappropriate clothing.
Passengers who appear intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, carry weapons, solicit, misrepresent themselves, interfere with the crew, refuse a search, have a medical condition that cannot accommodated, have a communicable disease, or are escorted prisoners may also be denied boarding.
