How to claim from Southwest Airlines and who can ask for up to $75 for flight delays or cancellations?
Southwest Airlines has agreed to establish a compensation fund to give passengers affected by “controllable cancellations and significant delays” a voucher.
Last winter, a snowstorm wreaked havoc on the operations of Southwest Airlines, resulting in the cancellation of 16,900 flights and left 2 million passengers stranded around the country during the Christmas holiday. On Monday, the airline agreed to pay the largest civil penalty in US history to resolve a federal investigation into the meltdown of their system.
“Today’s action sets a new precedent and sends a clear message: If airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement about the $140 million settlement.
As part of the deal, Southwest will pay a $35 million fine along with establishing a $90 million reserve for a compensation system to provide future passengers affected by “controllable cancellations and significant delays” with a $75 transferrable voucher for use on the airline at a later date.
How to claim from Southwest Airlines and who can ask for up to $75 for flight delays or cancellations?
Southwest Airlines has already paid over $600 million to passengers impacted by last year’s holiday meltdown in ticket refunds, expense compensation and frequent flyer points. The $90 million reserve is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to put in place an “industry-leading” US delay compensation program that will take effect in April.
Southwest passengers impacted by any future significant disruptions will be able to claim a $75 transferrable voucher for future use on the airline under the three-year mandate established in the agreement. Specifically, those travelers who, because of an issue within Southwest’s control, arrive at their destination three hours or more after their original scheduled arrival time.
Along with the voucher awarded “upon request”, travelers impacted by a significant disruption will receive flight rebooking, hotels, and food during the delay due to the inconvenience.
“Taking care of passengers is not just the right thing to do — it’s required, and this penalty should put all airlines on notice to take every step possible to ensure that a meltdown like [that during the 2022 Christmas holiday] never happens again,” said Secretary Buttigieg.