Southwest fined $140M over 2022 holiday flight cancellations

Southwest fine overview: 

• Who: Southwest Airlines received a $140 million civil penalty related to 2022 holiday flight cancellations from the U.S. Department of Transportation. 
• Why: The cancellations came because the airline canceled 16,900 flights and stranded over two million passengers over the holiday and is in addition to $600 million in refunds and reimbursements for passengers.
• Where: The impacted Southwest flight cancellations were across the United States.

Southwest Airlines received a $140 million civil penalty from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) related to 16,900 canceled flights that left more than 2 million travelers stranded over the 2022 holidays.

The Southwest Airlines fine, which is 30 times larger than any previous DOT fine, is in addition to $600 million in refunds and reimbursements the DOT made Southwest send to passengers who were impacted by the operational meltdown, the DOT said.

The airline previously said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it expected the DOT to levy a fine.

“Today’s action sets a new precedent and sends a clear message: if airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Taking care of passengers is not just the right thing to do — it’s required, and this penalty should put all airlines on notice to take every step possible to ensure that a meltdown like this never happens again.”

Southwest Airlines fine will go to future passenger delay compensation

The Southwest Airlines fine will mainly go toward future compensation for Southwest passengers impacted by cancellations or delays caused by the airline, the DOT said.

The DOT issued a consent order related to the Southwest Airlines fine that detailed failures that violated consumer protection laws.

“An airline’s practice of not providing adequate call center assistance when the carrier cancels or significantly changes a passenger’s flight is unfair as it causes substantial harm to consumers,” the consent order says. “Consumers are substantially harmed when they are stranded and need help to rebook flights and are unable to reach a customer service representative at all or in a reasonable amount of time by phone.”

In September 2022, the DOT had asked Southwest Airlines to make changes to its customer service plan for delays that entitled delayed passengers to reimbursements for meals, hotels, ground transportation and other expenses if a flight is significantly delayed or canceled due to an airline issue.

Those changes meant that the airline was responsible for those reimbursements when the 2022 holiday Southwest Airlines cancellations occurred.

Were you impacted by the 2022 Southwest flight cancellations? Let us know in the comments.

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