by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:57 AM ET, Wed January 4, 2023
Following major flight disruptions during the winter holiday travel period, Southwest Airlines said it was making progress in returning to normal operations as officials from the White House keep a close eye on the situation.
According to ABCNews.com, Southwest revealed it operated 99.1 percent of its scheduled flights during the New Year holiday weekend and would deliver all delayed baggage by midweek.
While the airline only canceled 59 flights on Tuesday, Southwest was forced to cancel nearly 16,000 flights during the notoriously busy winter holiday period due to inclement weather and crew scheduling system issues.
The carrier said it would reach out to every "significantly impacted" and "offer a tailored gesture of goodwill and another heartfelt apology." Southwest CEO Bob Jordan sent another letter to customers on Tuesday to apologize and gift 25,000 Rapid Rewards points for the inconvenience.
In addition to honoring reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel accommodations, and alternate transportation, the airline said it planned to improve the processes and systems that caused the travel disruptions during the holidays.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Transportation Department was considering fines against Southwest if it did not appropriately reimburse customers for their losses.
"Southwest Airlines failed its customers, point blank," Jean-Pierre said. "Our administration is going to continue to press for long-term solutions."
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