Southwest Airlines canceled 5,5 thousand flights
Due to a winter storm in the United States, Southwest Airlines canceled almost 5,5 thousand flights within two days, or about 60-70% of all its flights. Considering that Americans often fly with transfers, this led to a logistical collapse: thousands of people did not know how to get home or even how to get their luggage. On the company's hotlines, customers had to wait up to 2-4 hours for operators to respond.
Other airlines also canceled and delayed flights, but not on such a scale. In addition to severe weather conditions, Southwest Airlines justified the cancellation of flights by a lack of staff, which was actively cut due to a drop in demand during the coronavirus pandemic, but has not yet been able to recover.
The CEO of Southwest Airlines was forced to admit that the company had failed to adequately upgrade computer systems that would have allowed it to better allocate flights and staff to avoid delays. However, this year he received a salary of $9 million, and the firm's collective management has earned $5 million over the past five years. The company received $112 billion in Covid subsidies from the federal government and this month announced a $3.2 dividend to shareholders. million dollars.
Even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had to make excuses. Several months ago, attorneys general from 38 states sent a letter to Congress asking for legislation that would allow states to sue airlines for mass flight cancellations and other violations of passenger rights. And a week ago, a similar letter with a request to start fining air carriers for canceling and delaying flights was sent to the Ministry of Transport, which regulates the industry.
The American Economic Liberties Project, an antitrust think tank, has prepared its own bill that provides for these measures. But I wouldn't expect a quick response from the government. Southwest Airlines has spent $2 million on lobbying services since Buttigieg became transportation secretary, and he formerly worked for the consulting firm McKinsey, which received $796 from the airline lobbying alliance Airlines for America.
Author: Yan Veselov
