Southwest flight cancellations overview:
- Who: Southwest Airlines told the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company may face a fine from the U.S. Department of Transportation due to last yearโs disruptive flight cancellations.
- Why: The DOT reportedly determined that Southwest failed to provide adequate customer service or refunds to affected customers.
- Where: The potential Southwest fine was declared in the airlineโs SEC filing.
Southwest Airlines may be on the hook financially over its flight cancellations during the 2022 holiday season, according to the airlineโs U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reportedly notified Southwest Airlines that it may impose a fine due to the disruption in its procedures that caused more than 16,700 Southwest flight cancellations between Dec. 21 and 29 last year.
The DOT found that Southwest Airlines โfailed to provide adequate customer service assistance, prompt flight status notifications, and proper and prompt refunds and that the assessment of a civil penalty is warranted,โ Southwestโs SEC filing notes.
The SEC filing did not provide an estimate on the amount of the proposed Southwest fine.
Southwest also informed the SEC that it could face monetary damages from litigation filed by customers and shareholders, but the airline said it could not estimate the amount of damages it could face.
Inadequate preparation, tech issues caused Southwest flight cancellations, COO testified
Southwestโs COO Andrew Watterson told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation at a February hearing that the airline โdid not have enough winter operational resilience,โ Law360 reports.
Watterson reportedly noted that the airline lacked adequate de-icing equipment and was not prepared for the way in which extremely cold temperatures affected jet bridge hydraulics and ground support equipment fuel.
To make matters worse, Southwestโs internal flight crew scheduling system could not meet the airlineโs urgent need to reschedule flights during the massive winter storm that hit the country days before Christmas, according to Law360.
Customers and investors have filed lawsuits over the Southwest flight cancellations. One investor lawsuit claims Southwest knew its technology was in need of an update and that its route structure left the airline particularly vulnerable to inclement weather. Despite this knowledge, Southwest allegedly concealed these risks from shareholders, the plaintiff claims.
A Pennsylvania federal judge recently denied a motion to certifyย a Southwest Airlines class action lawsuit that alleged the airline breached its contract with customers and violated federal regulations by failing to offer refunds for flights that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Were you affected by last yearโs Southwest flight cancellations? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
Donโt Miss Out!
Check out our list of Class Action Lawsuits and Class Action Settlements you may qualify to join!
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
25 thoughts onSouthwest faces possible Dept. of Transportation fine over flight cancellations
My flight was cancelled which left me stranded in New Jersey.
Please add
I was canceled three times and it caused me to miss a very important day woth my grandsons. I dont get to visit them much because i dont have the money to fly. I finally saved enough money to fly in for my grandsons event. Every time i called them i couldnt get through. The app let me reschedule and drove almost all the way there and it was canceled again. Again couldnt get through on the phone so we drove all the way back home. It got canceled again then the thrid time three or four days later when i fund out other airlines were flying i got a flight. They never offered me a refund or discount on the next flight. They didnt even apologize. My name is Misty Doan and contact me I am a member of class actions website Thank you
I booked my 1st trip with my daughter. Kept coming back and forth to the airport for 6 times. And was waiting for 6 hrs at the airport. Our trip was canceled at midnight. Lost a lot of money because of southwest cancellations. Add me
Please add me!
Please add me
I had a cancelation flight
I had a flight cancellation
Add me
I and my daughter were caught up in the flight cancellations during the 2022 holiday season. We finally reached our destination however our luggage came later.
please add me
Please add me as I bought my daughter a round trip plane ticket to get to Chicago and then back home to Minnesota and her flight was cancelled and she was stranded in Illinois for another week as by the time we found out which was when we were getting up to go to the airport which was not enough notice she lost a week of pay as well and what they gave back was not enough to cover the plane ticket as well as what she lost from not being able to work.