Southwest Airlines has been sued by the Transportation Department for $140 million because of the “travel meltdown” that delayed or disrupted about 2 million people in the 2022 holiday season.
This fine against Southwest Airlines was reportedly brought against the airline on Monday and was about 30 times the previous penalty issued by the department for consumer violations.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “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.”
Why did DOT sue Southwest Airlines?
Southwest reportedly agreed to the civil penalty that includes a $35 million cash fine as well as a three-year mandate that Southwest gives $90 million in travel vouchers of $75 or more to passengers who experienced at least three hour delays in getting to their final destinations.
Reuters reported that the “travel horror stories” that ensued from the massive winter storm that caused chaos in 2022 made people miss funerals, holiday gatherings and instead forced passengers to make “cross-country drives of 17 or more hours across and some cancer patients could not get treatment.”
The airline said in regards to the fine that it was “grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement,” and that it “learned from the event, and now can shift its entire focus to the future,” according to CBS News.
“How you bounce back from a weather event is under your control and this sends a message that every airline has to make the proper investments in having a good enough system and good enough customer service,” Buttigieg told CNN. “When the unexpected happens ... you can quickly get back on your feet, take care of your passengers and get people where they need to be.”
What was the meltdown with Southwest Airlines?
CBS News reported that in the winter of 2022, nearly 17,000 flights were canceled due to a winter storm that disrupted Southwest Airlines operations in Denver and Chicago, “then snowballing when a crew rescheduling system couldn’t keep up with the chaos.”
Hundreds of unclaimed bags sat at the Salt Lake City airport as a result of the fiasco, according to the Deseret News.
Daniel Friend, who reportedly was one of the travelers affected by the “holiday travel meltdown” explained that despite their flight being canceled to Salt Lake City, their luggage, car seats and more was still sent without them.
“They said they didn’t have enough manpower to take it off the plane and give it back,” Friend told the Deseret News. “So it was going to Salt Lake without us.”