New Orleans and Jacksonville are the latest in a series of cities no longer reachable in one flight out of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport through Southwest Airlines. “It’s not about Birmingham,” said Brad Hawkins, manager of communications at Southwest Airlines. “It’s part of an effort to optimize our best resources, which are the planes and the people. Ultimately, we didn’t have a productive market on those flights.” Timing is unusual as BHM is going through a 72% expansion within the next 3 years as Airbus factory has brought business to Alabama.