Chicago Midway is one of Southwest Airlines’ busiest cities. According to Southwest, the carrier first entered the market on March 17, 1985, with eight daily departures to one city: St. Louis, Missouri. The city was the 21st destination on Southwest’s route map, quickly becoming a strategically important destination for the airline.

CHICAGO - A 52-year-old pilot for Southwest Airlines was arrested Wednesday morning at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport for allegedly showing up to work intoxicated. David Allsop, a New Hampshire resident, was taken into custody around 7 a.m. by the Chatham County Sheriff's Office and charged with driving under the influence.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was removed from the cockpit ahead of a Wednesday flight from Georgia to Chicago and was booked on a charge of driving under the influence, a source familiar with the incident told CBS News.

The pilot, David Allsop, 52, was arrested at Savannah Hilton Head Airport Wednesday morning and has been removed from duty. The flight was delayed about five hours.

Southwest Airlines confirmed the pilot had been removed from duty and apologized to customers whose travel plans were disrupted.

The Department of Transportation is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing it of operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions.

Authorities say an airline pilot who seemed to smell like alcohol was making pre-flight checks in the cockpit when police arrested him on a DUI charge.

The pilot was later charged with driving under the influence, records from the local sheriff's office show.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested at a Georgia airport and accused of DUI on Wednesday. A Transportation Security Administration officer smelled alcohol on the pilot and informed law enforcement officials, who arrested him at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News.

The U.S. Department of Transportation sued Southwest Airlines Wednesday, alleging it illegally operates flights that are persistently delayed, harming passengers and fair competition in the airline industry.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (7News) — A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested in Savannah, Georgia for intoxication moments before a Wednesday morning flight to Chicago, airport police told ABC News.

A Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested and removed from the cockpit at an airport in Georgia after allegedly failing a sobriety test before a flight to Chicago, police said.