Agency Tacitly Censures Sound Operational Judgment?

The delays and cancellations of thousands of Southwest Airlines flights in the days following Christmas 2022 have occasioned criticism of the Dallas, Texas-based carrier by disgruntled passengers and a federal government seemingly unable to accept, or incapable of understanding, that airlines do not control meteorological phenomena the likes of winter storms.

On 26 December, in the midst of nationwide freezing temperatures and widespread blizzard conditions, Southwest canceled 2,866 flights—approximately seventy-percent of the airline’s scheduled operations for the day. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C.—safely removed from the high-stakes realities of Part 121 Ops Specs, anti and deicing operations and holdover times, and rapidly degrading terminal forecasts—the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) excoriated Southwest Airlines, calling the surfeit of canceled flights “unacceptable.”

In a statement, the agency proclaimed: "USDOT is concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays, as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay. As more information becomes available, the department will closely examine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan, as well as all other pertinent DOT rules."

To the point of customer service, Southwest asserted it is rebooking as many customers as possible, and that people who had flights canceled may ask for refunds or receive flight-credits. As with all such accommodations, rebooking is contingent upon open seats on available flights.

Passengers frustrated with the airline allege they were made aware of neither delays to nor cancellations of their flights prior to arriving at their respective departure airports.

Passengers at LAX reported that many flights could not be rebooked until 31 December. Their claims are corroborated by Southwest Airlines’ website, which shows no available seating on LAX-SEA, LAX-LGA, or LAX-SFO flights through 31 December.

At Chicago’s Midway Airport (MDW), more than three-hundred Southwest Airlines flights were canceled as of 17:00 CST on 26 December. In all, the airline delayed 48% of its Sunday (25 December) MDW flights, and 16% of its Monday (26 December) MDW flights. A full sixty-percent of Southwest’s Tuesday (27 December) MDW flights faced cancellation as well.

Southwest declined to comment on criticisms from passengers and the Department of Transportation, but pointed out an earlier statement in which the airline expressed "heartfelt apologies" and explained it is working to "urgently address wide-scale disruption" with safety at the forefront of its operational motivations.

Southwest Airlines further set forth: "With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable … We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S.” The statement continued: “These operational conditions forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams used to recover the airline operating at capacity."

Southwest advised air-travelers that the upcoming days would see the carrier operate a reduced schedule of only about one-third of its usual flights.

FMI: www.southwest.com