US government to review ‘shameful’ cancellations by Southwest Airlines

Southwest cancels thousands more flights prompting feds to investigate.

 

Southwest Airlines cancelled thousands of flights again on Wednesday and more on Thursday in the aftermath of the massive winter storm that wrecked Christmas travel plans across the US.

 

According to tracking service Flight Aware, more than 2,500 flights scheduled for Wednesday were cancelled before 7 a.m. and already nearly 1,400 for Thursday.

 

On Tuesday, a day after most US airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest had called off about 2,600 more flights on the East Coast by late afternoon. Those flights accounted for more than 80% of the 3,000 trips that were cancelled nationwide.

 

At airports with major Southwest operations, customers stood in long lines hoping to find availablility on another flight. They described waiting hours on hold for help, only to be cut off. Some tried to rent cars to get to their destinations sooner while others found spots to sleep on the floor.

 

One affected passenger at Los Angeles International Airport described the situation as “shameful.”

 

Southwest’s cancellation rate has been significantly higher than other airlines, with the next highest cancellation number on Tuesday being Spirit Airlines with 83.

 

In a report published by The Associated Press, American, United, Delta and JetBlue, suffered cancellation rates of between none and 2 per cent by Tuesday.

 

In a video that Southwest posted, CEO Robert Jordan said the airline would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on track before next week”.

 

Jordan blamed the winter storm for disrupting the airline’s “highly complex” network.

 

“We have some real work to do in making this right,” he said. “For now, I want you to know that we are committed to that.”

 

Now the Biden administration says it is investigating the situation.

 

“Thousands of flights nationwide have been canceled around the holidays. Our administration is working to ensure airlines are held accountable,” President Biden tweeted on Tuesday.

 

The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, who has criticized airlines for previous disruptions, said his agency would examine the causes of Southwest’s widespread cancellations and whether the airline was meeting its legal obligations to stranded customers.

 

“While we all understand that you can’t control the weather, this has clearly crossed the line from what is an uncontrollable weather situation to something that is the airline’s direct responsibility,” Buttigieg told NBC Nightly News.

 

He said Southwest should at least pay cash refunds for cancelled flights and cover stranded passengers’ hotel and meal costs.

 

The Department of Transportation said in a statement: “USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”