The US Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined Southwest Airlines $140 million for last year’s airport chaos, when it canceled 16,900 flights and forced 2 million people to land in the middle of the Christmas holiday.
In a statement, the DOT recalled that the fine was 30 times more than the fine imposed for violating consumer rights and was added to the 600 million that Southwest owed in the form of compensation for lodging, menus and transportation. For passengers affected “as a result of DOT actions.”
The penalty announced today will, in effect, compensate future passengers affected by flight cancellations or delays.
Southwest, with 815 aircraft serving 121 destinations and nearly 80,000 employees, is considered one of the nation’s “big four” airlines, along with American Airlines, United and Delta.
In its statement, the DOT emphasized the exemplary nature of the sanction, which “sets a precedent and sends a clear message: If airlines mislead their passengers, we will use the full force of our authority (…) This fine is a warning to airlines to take all measures to ensure that such confusion does not happen again.” .
According to the department, Southwest violated three basic consumer rights: it did not provide adequate customer assistance, it did not provide adequate notice of flight cancellations or delays, and it did not promptly and properly compensate victims.
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