The US airline Southwest Airlines was fined $140 million by US authorities for logistical problems that seriously disrupted air traffic during the Christmas holidays last year.
“Today we announced a $140 million fine (30 times larger than any fine our department has imposed so far) against Southwest Airlines for failing to deliver to passengers during the 2022 holiday crisis,” he announced Monday on X (formerly Twitter) the American Department. of Transport, which has reached an agreement with the carrier to resolve this dispute.
In late December 2022, an extreme cold wave hit the United States, accompanied by significant snowfall, especially in the Great Lakes region, causing chaos for road and air transportation.
Thousands of flights were canceled in the middle of the Christmas holidays. Southwest Airlines had canceled more than 60% of its routes due to logistical problems.
2 million passengers affected
“Between December 21, 2022 and January 2, 2023, Southwest canceled or experienced significant delays on more than 16,900 flights, affecting more than 2 million passengers,” US authorities specify in a document detailing the agreement.
The Department of Transportation criticizes Southwest in particular for failing to handle the considerable number of calls from its customers, but also for failing to provide them with timely information about the status of flights.
In addition, they criticize him for not having reimbursed the injured passengers in a sufficiently “quick” and “adequate” manner.
With this fine, “Southwest is obliged to compensate future passengers whose flight will be significantly delayed or canceled with a bonus of $75. This in addition to having to pay for the new flight reservation, hotels and food during the delay,” he details. the Ministry of Transportation.
In addition to this provision, the company will also have to pay a fine of $35 million paid to the US Treasury.
For its part, Southwest indicated that it entered into “this agreement in order to reach an agreement,” without admitting any violation of consumer protection laws. The Dallas-based company operates in 11 countries around the world and has 74,000 employees, according to its website.
Source: BFM TV
