Southwest Airlines expects a large DOT penalties almost a year later. This comes after last year's historic December 2022 breakdown, which delayed or canceled tens of thousands of flights around Christmas.
Southwest may know about the fine and is waiting for notification.
The punishment specifics are unknown. The Transportation Secretary termed the situation “unacceptable,” thus it will likely be a heavy penalty.
Bad weather and Southwest's booking software malfunctioned, affecting almost 20,000 flights. It was terrible that it happened over the holidays, one of the busiest times of the year.
Although weather may interrupt flight schedules, Buttigieg wrote last year to Southwest CEO that the hundreds of cancellations in recent days were not due to weather.
Aviation officials stated the airline's slow returns exacerbated the issue. DOT also rated Southwest's customer service lacking.
The airline has hinted at charges from consumer and shareholder lawsuits over the incident.
Southwest experienced trouble reassigning staff and delaying and canceling flights. Analysts even criticized the airline for not upgrading its technology.