DALLAS — In a letter to Southwest Airlines' chief executive officer, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the department would hold the airline accountable amid cancellation chaos that has plagued travelers.
The Dallas-based airline said it expects to return to normal operations on Friday after slashing about two-thirds of its schedule in recent days.
Southwest struggled to recover after becoming overwhelmed by a winter storm that spread across several states, leaving hundreds of pilots and flight attendants stranded out of position to operate flights.
The Associated Press reported that the airline canceled more than 13,000 flights since its meltdown began on Dec. 22.
In a letter to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan, Buttigieg said the level of disruption customers have experienced is "unacceptable."
"While weather can disrupt flight schedules, the thousands of cancellations by Southwest in recent days have not been because of the weather," wrote Buttigieg. "Other airlines that experienced weather-related cancellations and delays due to the winter storm recovered relatively quickly, unlike Southwest."
Airline executives told employees that crew scheduling has been fixed, which was a major cause of the meltdown. Southwest has acknowledged that it has inadequate and outdated technology that left flight crews out of position when bad weather struck.
"For many, Southwest’s severe flight disruptions have resulted in missed time with loved ones during the holidays and in being separated for a prolonged period from their luggage even if they never boarded a flight," wrote Buttigieg.
In his letter, Buttigieg outlined four priorities for the airline to address, including:
- Getting stranded passengers to their destinations safely and quickly
- Providing or reimbursing passengers for meals, hotels, and ground transportation to or from hotels
- Promptly refunding affected passengers for their canceled tickets should the passenger
not accept alternative offered such as rebooking
- Southwest must provide prompt refunds when canceling a flight or making a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, unless the passenger accepts the rebooking
- Ensuring that passengers are quickly reunited with their baggage
Buttigieg said the department would use "the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers to hold Southwest accountable if it fails to adhere to the promises made."
On Wednesday, Southwest made changes to speed up the process of reuniting customers with bags at Dallas Love Field, reorganizing bags into zones to help customers find them quicker and also added a new online tool that walks through how to get their bags delivered or rerouted to where they need to be.
United Airlines, American Airlines and others capped fare prices in select cities amid Southwest's meltdown.
“Right now it looks like a pretty smooth operation as we head into this transition [Thursday] to allow us to resume operations on Friday at our normal schedule, which is a big step up,” Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson told employees video Wednesday night.
The airline has declined requests to make executives available for comment and did not provide an update about operations on its website. Its main public outreach has been to post video statements by Jordan and its chief commercial officer.
The airline has not given an estimate for how much revenue it has lost and how much extra cost it will incur.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.