Southwest Strands Thousands of Travelers After Taking $7.2B From Feds
Southwest Airlines stranded tens of thousands of passengers right after Christmas, canceling 5,400 flights in less than 48 hours, sending travelers’ luggage to their destinations while they remained stranded in airports across the country.
This is after the airline took $7.2 billion in federal subsidies and contracts since 2020, OpenTheBooks.com reported.
Southwest blamed the cancellations — at least 70% of its scheduled flights on Monday and at least 60% of its schedule on Tuesday – on its internal scheduling system crashing. A union for the airline’s flight attendants said the company knew it had outdated technology but hasn’t upgraded it.
Transport Workers Union of America Local 556 officials said they have been calling attention to the issue for years, trying to get the company to upgrade its technology. Southwest hasn’t followed though and crews were stranded, causing delays and cancellations, Fox 31 Denver reported.
Southwest received $7.2 billion from the federal government, some of which could have been used to upgrade their systems.
In September 2020, Southwest received $3.3 billion from the federal government for Covid-19 relief. In April 2021, Southwest received another $3.8 billion as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act and other subsidies, according to data on the federal spending transparency website.
Southwest received so much federal aid, the airline had a $116 million profit in the first quarter of 2021, the first airline to return to profitability after the pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it will look into whether the airline violated customer agreements and should be held accountable for the havoc is wreaked on one of the busiest travel times of the year.
“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service,” the agency said in a tweet. “The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”
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