Southwest Airlines Probed for Flight Cancellations
The US Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) has said that it's “concerned” about Southwest Airlines’ recent rash of cancellations and delays in response to last weekend's major storm, and will investigate whether the carrier could’ve responded better.
Facts
- The US Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) has said that it's “concerned” about Southwest Airlines’ recent rash of cancellations and delays in response to last weekend's major storm, and will investigate whether the carrier could’ve responded better.
- Southwest didn’t directly respond to the possibility of being investigated, but previously offered “heartfelt apologies” in a public statement. The airline said it’s rebooking customers as quickly as it can, and is offering refunds and credits.
- In the aftermath of the storm, caused by an Arctic blast dubbed Elliott that continues to batter the US with record-breaking low temperatures, Southwest canceled more than 70% of its flights on Monday alone.
- Other airlines have been impacted by the storm, but of the more than 4.5k flights canceled on Tuesday, 56% belonged to Southwest. More than 3k flights had been canceled for Wednesday, including 70% on the Dallas-based carrier.
- The airports worst hit by cancellations have been Denver, Las Vegas, Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington, and Dallas Love Field.
Sources: Al Jazeera, FOX News, Daily Mail, NBC, and New York Post.
Narratives
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by NPR Online News. Southwest’s cancellation total is 10 times more than the airline with the second-most cancellations, so obviously it’s doing something drastically wrong. The skies have cleared since the storm, yet Southwest continues to cancel flights at a high rate. This is a total meltdown, and if Southwest can’t get its act together maybe regulators can get the carrier in line.
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. Southwest has done plenty wrong in terms of overzealous scheduling and under-investing in operations, but these cancellations are equally attributable to bad luck. Two of its biggest hubs – Chicago Midway and Denver International Airport – were hardest hit by the storm, and staffing has been challenged by the so-called “tripledemic” (COVID, flu, and RSV). Combine that with the holiday rush, and Southwest has faced an unprecedented challenge to its service.
