Major airline fined $140 million after cancelling over 16,000 flights last holiday season
A major airline has been fined a record US$140 million (around C$187 million) after cancelling thousands of flights during the 2022 holiday season.
The US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the fine against Southwest Airlines on Monday.
It says the airline violated numerous consumer protection laws that cancelled 16,900 flights and stranded over two million travellers over the 2022 Christmas holiday and into the New Year.
On Monday, @USDOT issued a fine against Southwest Airlines for its role in the 2022 holiday travel meltdown. This record penalty puts all airlines on notice: if airlines fail passengers, this Administration will hold them accountable.https://t.co/Ttz1vHyUYx
ā Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) December 19, 2023
The penalty is 30 times larger than any previous fine that has been doled out for consumer protections violations. A majority of the fine will go towards compensating future Southwest passengers affected by cancellations or delays caused by the airline, according to a DOT statement.
āTodayās 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,ā said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
āTaking care of passengers is not just the right thing to do ā 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.ā
This decision also led to the DOT introducing new consumer protections policies to help avoid what it calls a “holiday meltdown.”
In a statement on Monday, Southwest Airlines says it shares the same goal with the DOT to deliver the highest standard of service to the public.
“Grateful to have reached a consumer-friendly settlement that both credits past compensation that went above and beyond requirements for customers and incorporates a future commitment for Southwest customer care with a new industry-leading compensation policy,” the airline stated.
This fine is in addition to the more than US$600 million (around C$800 million) in refunds and reimbursements the carrier was instructed to provide to passengers who were affected.
Overall, the DOT says Southwest will pay over $750 million for the holiday fiasco ā with the vast majority going to passengers for refunds, reimbursements, rapid rewards, or future compensation.
Canadian airlines have faced fines, but none at this million scale.
The heftiest penalty to date was recently imposed on Air Canada after it “failed to provide to a person with a disability any passenger seat adjacent to their passenger seat that is needed to provide sufficient floor space for their service dog,” according to The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
The carrier was fined $110,000, which seems like pocket change compared to the US$140 million fine issued to Southwest.