Southwest Airlines is dealing with the chaos of cancelling almost 15,800 flights since December 22nd during a massive disruption that has taken a severe toll on the airlines company over the holiday season.
According to CNN, Southwest Airlines has promised a resumption of its normal schedule on Friday via a statement that the company released back on Thursday, following another terrible day that saw another 2,363, flights cancelled.
“We are encouraged by the progress we’ve made to realign crew, their schedules and our fleet,” it read. “We know even our deepest apologies – to our customers, to our employees, and to all affected through this disruption – only go so far,” the company said in the official statement.
“We know even our deepest apologies – to our customers, to our employees, and to all affected through this disruption – only go so far,” the statement read.
“We’ve set up a page at Southwest.com/traveldisruption for customers to submit refund and reimbursement requests for meals, hotel and alternate transportation; as well as to connect customers to their baggage.”
Furthermore, Southwest Airlines was formally warned by the DOT on Thursday that the company will face consequences if it fails to make right by stranded and inconvenienced passengers during this time.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote in a letter to Southwest CEO Jordan that officials will take action against the airline if it does not follow through on promises to reimburse passengers for alternative transportation costs, as well as provide meals, hotels, refunds and baggage reunification, with penalties including the potential of fines, which could be substantial.
“It would be an unfair and deceptive practice not to fulfill this commitment to passengers,” Buttigieg wrote. “The airline said to me that they were going to go above and beyond what’s required of them,” Buttigieg said Thursday in an interview with NBC News. “I’m looking to make sure they actually do that, and if they don’t, we are in a position to levy tens of thousands of dollars per violation per passenger in fines.”
