A Southwest Airways passenger jet lands at Chicago Halfway Worldwide Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on December 28, 2022.
Kamil Krzaczynski | AFP | Getty Pictures
The Transportation Division mentioned Wednesday that it is in the initial period of an investigation of Southwest Airlines‘ vacation meltdown and on the lookout at no matter whether the carrier’s schedules was unrealistic.
Southwest has mentioned it canceled far more than 16,000 flights between Dec. 21 and Dec. 31 as it struggled to recover from severe winter temperature when executives stated they had to terminate even much more flights to continual the operation.
The organization and labor unions have pointed to outmoded scheduling platforms that were not developed to manage the number of flight changes that occurred about that interval.
“DOT is also probing whether Southwest executives engaged in unrealistic scheduling of flights which under federal regulation is regarded an unfair and deceptive apply,” a DOT spokesperson mentioned. “DOT will leverage the full extent of its investigative and enforcement electricity to make certain shoppers are shielded and this system will continue to evolve as the Section learns more.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has beforehand vowed to keep Southwest accountable for the disruptions, which left hundreds of 1000’s of vacationers stranded.
“Our holiday break flight timetable was thoughtfully created and provided to our Consumers with the backing of a good approach to function it, and with enough staffing,” Southwest said in a assertion late Wednesday. “We will continue on to cooperate with any inquiry or request from govt oversight or elected officers. We are acutely targeted on understanding from this event, mitigating the hazard of a repeat prevalence, and offering the hospitality and excellent support our Clients assume from us.”
Southwest is scheduled to report effects in advance of the market place opens on Thursday.
