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Southwest Airlines is still struggling to recover from its cancellations during the holiday season, prompting a huge backlash and federal scrutiny of its affairs.
Southwest has been dealing with one of the worst operational meltdowns ever seen in the airline industry, leading to the cancellation of thousands of flights across the United States due to winter storm Elliott which occurred days before the Christmas holiday. Days later, the airline is still struggling to operate flights with crews and pilots left stranded along with passengers, accounting for 90% of U.S. flights canceled dating back to last Friday according to industry watchdog FlightAware.
Despite issuing a promise to rectify the situation which included a personal message from its CEO Bob Jordan, Southwest said in a statement issued Monday (Dec. 26) that it “will continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one-third of our schedule for the next several days.” That move has led to calls for accountability from both passengers and labor unions along with congressional Democrats. The Department of Transportation issued a statement later via Twitter, saying it would examine “if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan” and whether the cancellations could have been avoided.
Those working for Southwest point to the company’s outdated scheduling software and absences due to illness as well as its phone systems. “They’re just not manned with enough manpower in order to give the scheduling changes to flight attendants, and that’s created a ripple effect that is creating chaos throughout the nation,” said TWU Local 556 President Lyn Brown.
“We’ve been having these issues for the past 20 months,” Southwest Airlines Pilot Association President Casey Murray. “We’ve seen these sorts of meltdowns occur on a much more regular basis and it really just has to do with outdated processes and outdated IT.” Southwest was one of many companies that benefited from federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to Jordan receiving an increased compensation package of over $9 million.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a Tuesday (Dec. 27) interview with NBC remarked that “this has clearly crossed the line from what is an uncontrollable weather situation to something that is the airline’s direct responsibility.” This followed words from Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee earlier in the day who promised more congressional oversight into Southwest and other airlines’ practices overall.
“Many airlines fail to adequately communicate with consumers during flight cancellations,” she said. “Consumers deserve strong protections, including an updated consumer refund rule.”
