Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines' holiday chaos could cost the company as much as $825 million

5:05pm January 06, 2023

by Giulia Heyward

Southwest Airlines says disruptions that led to more than 16,700 cancelled flights over the holidays will have severe financial consequences for the company.

Travelers wait in line before passing through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport on December 28, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.

National

Flight fare prices skyrocketed following Southwest's meltdown. Was it price gouging?

11:39am December 30, 2022

by Emily Olson

Passengers who looked for last-minute tickets encountered sky-high prices — in some cases, triple or quadruple the rate for the same route in the last few months. Experts say it's fairly normal.

A woman walks through unclaimed bags at Southwest Airlines baggage claim at Salt Lake City International Airport on Thursday, as the carrier canceled another 2,350 flights after a winter storm overwhelmed its operations days ago.

National

Southwest plans on near-normal operations Friday after widespread cancellations

6:36pm December 29, 2022

Ahead of the New Year's weekend, the airline said that Friday will see minimal disruptions after its slashed schedule stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers during a wintry holiday stretch.

Unclaimed luggage at the William P. Hobby Airport on Thursday in Houston, Texas.

National

Unclaimed luggage piles up at airports following Southwest cancellations

5:00am December 29, 2022

by Giulia Heyward

After Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights over the week, travelers are scrambling to reunite with their luggage.

Travelers wait next to their luggage near the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area at the Nashville International Airport after the airline canceled thousands of flights in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday.

National

Southwest cancels another 4,800 flights as its reduced schedule continues

1:27pm December 28, 2022

by Emily Olson

The airline's CEO says the company is hoping to be "back on track before next week." But until then, it's continuing on a reduced schedule.

Southwest Airlines is conducting an internal investigation into an incident where a pilot signed off with the phrase "Let's go, Brandon," which conservatives are using to insult President Biden.

A Southwest pilot is under investigation for the divisive phrase 'Let's go, Brandon'

4:25pm November 01, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

The airline said it will address the situation with the pilot and that it doesn't condone employees sharing personal political opinions while working or tolerate behavior that leads to divisiveness.

Passengers board a Southwest Airlines airplane at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California on October 10, 2021. The airline has continued to cancel or delay hundreds of flights on Monday.

National

More Southwest Airlines flight disruptions follow a weekend of cancellations

3:52pm October 11, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights are either canceled or delayed on Monday, after a weekend of disruptions that the carrier has blamed on air traffic control issues and weather conditions.

A systemwide outage Monday night affected Southwest Airlines flights across the country.

National

Southwest Airlines Resumes Flights After Tech Glitch Caused Delays Across The Country

10:52am June 15, 2021

by Jaclyn Diaz

Southwest Airlines blamed the flight delays Monday night on tech problems with the company's weather data provider.

A man wearing a mask prepares to board a Southwest Airlines flight at Kansas City International airport in Kansas City, Mo. Southwest and American Airlines are tightening their mask requirements at the end of July by doing away with exemptions for travele

National

Southwest And American Airlines Tighten Their Mask Requirements By Ending Exemptions

7:31pm July 23, 2020

by Rachel Treisman

The airlines will require all customers over the age of 2 to wear face coverings on board and at airports, with no exceptions. They say people who don't comply won't be allowed to fly as next week.

All Boeing 737 Max aircraft are grounded while the manufacturer fixes a deadly defect in their flight control system. These Southwest Airlines planes were parked in Victorville, Calif., in March.

National

Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch Two Years Before Deadly Crash

9:36pm October 18, 2019

by David Schaper

One pilot messaged that the problem was "egregious" and he had "basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly)" when he had told the FAA that the flight control system was safe.