CHICAGO (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co said on Thursday it would remove its 34 Boeing Co 737 MAX jets from its flying schedule through Aug. 5, leading to around 160 daily flight cancellations during the revised summer schedule.

In a statement, Southwest President Tom Nealon said the decision is meant to "increase the reliability of our schedule and reduce the amount of last-minute flight changes," especially during the summer travel season.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Leslie Adler)