What Terminal Is Southwest at MCO? Your Orlando Airport Terminal and Gate Guide

I worked airline gates for twelve years, and I still drive down to Orlando often enough to have this one memorized. So here it is, no throat-clearing.

The short answer: Terminal A, gates 100-129

Southwest flies out of Terminal A at Orlando International Airport (MCO), from gates 100-129 in the Airside 2 satellite concourse. That’s the whole answer to the question you typed.

Now the part the other pages skip: those gates are not attached to the building where you check in. Airside 2 is a remote pod, and the only way to reach it is a short train ride after security. Nobody walks to their Southwest gate at MCO. You check in on the Terminal A side, clear security, then ride an automated people mover out to the concourse. It’s built into the design, it’s free, and it takes a few minutes—but if you don’t know it’s coming, it feels like a surprise at the worst possible time.

MCO is a big Southwest operation—Orlando is one of the airline’s major hubs—so you’ll be in good company on that train. Here’s how the whole thing flows.

Getting from check-in to your Southwest gate, step by step

Think of it as a straight line: curb → check-in → East checkpoint → train → gates 100-129. Four moves. Get them in order and MCO is easy.

Check-in and bag drop (Terminal A, Level 3)

Everything starts on Level 3 of Terminal A. That’s the departures level: Southwest’s ticket counters, the curbside check-in podium, and the self-tag kiosks are all up there in the Terminal A ticketing hall.

If you’re checking a bag, mind the clock. Southwest’s checked-bag cutoff runs 45 minutes before departure, and at a leisure airport like this one that deadline sneaks up on people hauling strollers and souvenir suitcases. Business Select and A-List flyers get priority check-in and bag-drop lanes here, same as anywhere else on the network. Everyone else: get your bag tagged and moving early.

Security: the East checkpoint

From Level 3 you head for the East security checkpoint, which serves gates 70-129. That’s the one you want—it’s the checkpoint that feeds Airside 2. MCO’s other main checkpoint, the West one, serves gates 1-59 on the far side of the building. Wrong airsides for Southwest. Don’t follow that crowd.

MCO has TSA PreCheck lanes at every checkpoint, and CLEAR is available too. Both help, but neither one fixes bad timing—Orlando’s family-and-theme-park crowds can spike a security line fast. The airport publishes live checkpoint wait times on its website and app, so check them before you leave for the airport. While you’re at it, confirm your gate on MCO’s live departures and gate board.

The people-mover train to Airside 2

Here’s the beat nobody warns you about. Once you’re through security, there is no walking route to the Southwest gates. You take an automated people mover—a free, driverless train—out to Airside 2. It is the only way in.

Don’t let that rattle you. The trains run constantly, they cost nothing, and the ride out to the concourse takes roughly 5 to 10 minutes. Budget that time on top of security and you’ll be fine. The people who miss flights here are the ones who assumed the gate was a two-minute stroll from the metal detector.

Finding your gate once you’re in Airside 2

Step off the train and get your bearings. A small food court sits straight ahead, around gates 110, 111, 112 and 120. Gates 101-109 are off to your left; gates 121-129 are to your right.

Your gate is printed on your boarding pass, but treat it as a draft. MCO posts gate assignments about 24 hours out, and they change. Trust the airport boards or the Southwest app over anything you memorized last night.

No, Southwest isn’t in Terminal C

I keep seeing this one repeated, so let me kill it cleanly: Southwest does not fly from Terminal C. A few third-party pages get it wrong. Ignore them.

Terminal C (gates 230-245) opened in September 2022, and it’s for JetBlue plus international carriers like British Airways, Aer Lingus, Emirates and Lufthansa. It has its own check-in, its own security, and its own customs hall. It also sits about 1.25 miles from the main terminal—you reach it on the Terminal Link train or a shuttle, not on foot. If you booked Southwest and you see signs for Terminal C, they are not for you. Walk past them. If you want to see how the pieces fit, the MCO terminal maps lay it out.

Arrivals and baggage claim on Southwest

Landing instead of leaving? Southwest’s baggage claim is on Level 2 of Terminal A. Watch the arrivals boards for your carousel number, and don’t panic if the bags take a while.

Ground transportation is one level down, on Level 1: rental cars, taxis, rideshare, and hotel and cruise shuttles all stage there. Tell whoever’s picking you up “Terminal A, Level 1,” and have them wait in the cell phone lot until you actually have your bag in hand.

One note for international arrivals connecting to Southwest: you’ll clear customs and immigration over in the Airside 4 area (gates 70-99) before rejoining the domestic side.

How early should you really arrive?

Southwest’s official line is to be at MCO at least 2 hours before departure. For an ordinary Tuesday, that’s honest.

For holidays and peak weekends, give yourself more—2.5 to 3 hours. This isn’t padding for its own sake. Orlando set a record with roughly 2.9 million passengers over one recent holiday stretch, according to Central Florida Public Media, and those crowds land squarely on the security lines. The airport’s own rule of thumb during peaks is a clean one: about 3 hours before your flight at the airport, at the counter 2 hours out, and at the gate 1 hour before departure. Remember the train eats into that last hour, so being “at the gate” means you’ve already ridden out to Airside 2.

Time your drive so you’re not fighting the clock on both ends—here’s the ground transport into Orlando if you still need to sort that out.

Connecting on Southwest at MCO

If MCO is a layover rather than your destination, the good news is Southwest keeps most connections simple. Gates 100-129 (Airside 2) and gates 70-99 (Airside 4) both sit behind that same East checkpoint. So if you’re not collecting bags, you can ride the train between those two airsides without clearing security again.

A connection over on Airside 1 or 3 is a bigger deal—that means crossing to the West checkpoint on the other side of the terminal. And whatever you do, take Southwest’s own advice: if you’re connecting, do not exit security back into the main terminal. You’ll just have to line up and screen all over again.

Southwest’s international flights, by the way, also depart from gates 100-129, so international departures don’t need to switch concourses after security.

Lounges near the Southwest gates

Set your expectations here. Southwest doesn’t run a branded lounge anywhere, and there’s none inside Airside 2. If you’re flying Southwest and hoping to kill an hour in a lounge by your gate, that’s not how this concourse is built.

There is an option if you carry Priority Pass: The Club at MCO, over in the Airside 1 concourse. That’s a different airside from your Southwest gates, so treat it as a deliberate detour with train time attached, not a quick stop. If lounges matter to your trip, scan the full list of lounges at MCO before you commit to the walk.

Southwest at MCO: quick FAQ

Is Southwest in Terminal A or B at MCO? Terminal A. You check in and clear security on the Terminal A side, then ride the train to Airside 2.

What gates does Southwest use at MCO? Gates 100-129, in the Airside 2 satellite concourse.

Where is Southwest baggage claim at MCO? Level 2 of Terminal A. Ground transportation is one level below, on Level 1.

Is Southwest in Terminal C? No. Terminal C is JetBlue and international carriers. Southwest stays in Terminal A and Airside 2.

How early should I get to MCO for a Southwest flight? At least 2 hours normally; 2.5 to 3 hours on holidays and busy weekends, since MCO’s crowds can spike the security lines.