Southwest flight heading for Tampa diverted to Fort Lauderdale after descending to 150 feet

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Southwest Airlines flight heading for Tampa International Airport was forced to divert to Fort Lauderdale last weekend.

Ben Schlapping, founder of travel news website One Mile at a Time , said on X — the platform formerly known as Twitter — that Southwest Airlines flight WN425 descended as low as 150 feet during its approach to Tampa International Airport.

For context, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 making the flight has a wingspan of 117 feet and 10 inches, according to Boeing’s website .

The flight, which was traveling from Columbus with plans to arrive in Tampa at 6:10 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, was forced to divert to Fort Lauderdale after abandoning its approach possibly due to weather in the area.

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines gave the following statement:

Southwest Flight 425 safely diverted to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on July 14 after the Crew discontinued their planned approach into Tampa International Airport. The aircraft returned to Tampa after a short time on the ground in Fort Lauderdale. Southwest is following its robust Safety Management System and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration to understand and address any irregularities. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.

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