https://sputnikglobe.com/20231218/southwest-airlines-handed-record-140-million-fine-for-2022-holiday-travel-bungles-1115667366.html
Southwest Airlines Handed Record $140 Million Fine for 2022 Holiday Travel Bungles
Southwest Airlines Handed Record $140 Million Fine for 2022 Holiday Travel Bungles
Sputnik International
The US Department of Transportation fined bargain air carrier Southwest Airlines handed down its largest-ever financial penalty in response to the fiasco that beset American air travel during the 2022 Christmas holiday season.
2023-12-18T20:18+0000
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Southwest Airlines was ordered to pay $140 million in fines and to return another $600 million to passengers who were left stranded by the airline, compensating them for expenses such as meals, hotels, reservations, and of course plane tickets, that were negatively impacted by travel delays found to be the fault of the airline.The fine is 30 times larger than the $4.5 million fine given to Air Canada in 2021, which until Monday was the DoT’s largest-ever penalty.According to the DoT, Southwest disputed the government’s assertion that it had violated the law by being so unprepared for severe weather as to have infringed upon legally mandated consumer protections, but it agreed to the penalty to avoid further litigation.In a statement, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the company was “grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement.”Storms across the US caused major disruptions during the Christmas and New Years’ holidays in North America, and Southwest canceled 16,900 flights. Customers were left stranded, causing them to cancel plans or make alternative travel arrangements, and reported being left on hold by customer service for hours at a time.After the debacle, Jordan’s deputy, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson, was grilled before the Senate Commerce Committee, who blamed many of the failures on changes to the staff scheduling program.Since the 2020 pandemic, the DoT has cracked down harder on airline failures, handing United Airlines a $1.9 million fine in 2021 for unreasonably long tarmac wait times, with passengers not being allowed to deplane for more than three hours despite being on the ground. The pandemic put pressure on airlines as waves of COVID-19 infections caused chronic staffing shortages that led to huge delays and other headaches for travelers.
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southwest airlines travel delays, southwest fines, is my southwest flight canceled
Southwest Airlines Handed Record $140 Million Fine for 2022 Holiday Travel Bungles
The US Department of Transportation (DoT) on Monday fined bargain air carrier Southwest Airlines its largest-ever financial penalty in response to the fiasco that beset American air travel during the 2022 Christmas holiday season.
Southwest Airlines was ordered to pay $140 million in fines and to return another $600 million to passengers who were left stranded by the airline, compensating them for expenses such as meals, hotels, reservations, and of course plane tickets, that were negatively impacted by travel delays found to be the fault of the airline.
“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,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in
a news release. “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.”
The fine is 30 times larger than the $4.5 million fine given to Air Canada in 2021, which until Monday was the DoT’s largest-ever penalty.
21 November 2023, 18:43 GMT
According to the DoT, Southwest disputed the government’s assertion that it had violated the law by being so unprepared for severe weather as to have infringed upon legally mandated consumer protections, but it agreed to the penalty to avoid further litigation.
In
a statement, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the company was “grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement.”
“We have spent the past year acutely focused on efforts to enhance the customer experience with significant investments and initiatives that accelerate operational resiliency, enhance cross-team collaboration and bolster overall preparedness for winter operations,” Jordan said.
Storms across the US caused major disruptions during the Christmas and New Years’ holidays in North America, and Southwest canceled 16,900 flights. Customers were left stranded, causing them to cancel plans or make alternative travel arrangements, and reported being left on hold by customer service for hours at a time.
16 December 2023, 23:14 GMT
After the debacle, Jordan’s deputy, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson, was grilled before the Senate Commerce Committee, who blamed many of the failures on changes to the staff scheduling program.
“Tomorrow, the fix will go in, it will be live on our production system. It has already had two rounds in our test system,” he said on February 9. However, he also noted a lack of sufficient de-icing equipment in Denver and Chicago, which had contributed to the cancellations, would take longer to fix.
Since the 2020 pandemic, the DoT has cracked down harder on airline failures, handing United Airlines
a $1.9 million fine in 2021 for unreasonably long tarmac wait times, with passengers not being allowed to deplane for more than three hours despite being on the ground. The pandemic put pressure on airlines as waves of COVID-19 infections caused chronic staffing shortages that led to huge delays and other headaches for travelers.
