Trump administration grants Southwest Airlines multimillion dollar waiver for 2022 holiday travel chaos

The Trump administration has decided to relieve Southwest Airlines from paying the final portion of a federal fine related to the airlines massive service disruptions during the 2022 holiday season, which stranded over 2 million travelers.

Late on Friday, the Department of Transportation announced that Southwest will not be required to pay the remaining $11 million of the $140 million penalty initially imposed by the Biden administration in 2023.

The airlines extensive schedule collapse spanned 10 days, resulting in approximately 17,000 flight cancellations during the peak holiday period at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, affecting nearly half of its planned flights.

Southwests CEO, Bob Jordan, explained to employees that the company was grappling with insufficient operational tools and multiple internal challenges at the time. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented that the airlines system had completely melted down following discussions with Jordan. A spokesperson for Southwest cited severe winter weather as the cause of the cancellations and delays.

Despite these explanations, the disruption left millions of passengers with ruined holiday plans. Southwest reimbursed customers with $600 million in refunds and compensation, while additional labor costs and lost revenue pushed the total financial impact to $914 million after taxes.

The $140 million federal fine, announced nearly a year after the disruption, aimed to create a $90 million fund to compensate future affected passengers and allocate $35 million to the U.S. Treasury. The final installment was initially due at the end of January, before the Trump administration approved the $11 million waiver.

The Department of Transportation justified the decision by highlighting Southwests investments in improving its operations control center. Officials noted that these enhancements have resulted in better on-time performance and flight completion rates, benefiting the flying public.

Southwest Airlines expressed gratitude, stating that the DOTs recognition of their operational improvements reflects a successful turnaround over the past two years, leading to industry-leading punctuality and fewer flight cancellations.

Author: Riley Thompson