During the 2022 holiday season, Southwest Airlines suffered an operational meltdown after a powerful Arctic front impacted U.S. airlines operations. In the end, Southwest had to cancel the highest number of flights and was the slowest to recover, actually cancelling additional flights after other domestic airlines had regained their footing.
In 2023, the airline announced it had agreed to pay a record-setting $140 million civil penalty levied by the United States Department of Transportation.
On Friday, the DOT amended the original order from the Biden Administration, waiving the final $11 million of the penalty.
“Order 2023-12-11 assessed Southwest Airlines Co. a civil penalty of $140 million and required Southwest to pay $35 million to the U.S. Treasury in three installments—two installments of $12 million and one installment of $11 million. Southwest made one $12 million payment on February 5, 2024, and a second $12 million payment on January 31, 2025. The remaining $11 million is due and payable to the U.S. Treasury no later than January 31, 2026. In lieu of a payment of an $11 million civil penalty to the government, this order provides Southwest with an $11 million credit for significantly improving its on-time performance and completion factor through its $112.4 million investment in its Network Operations Control,” read the statement in part.
The DOT said that it believes that this approach is in the public interest, as it incentivizes airlines to invest in improving their operations and resiliency, which benefits consumers directly.
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