The Trump administration said on Friday that it would waive an $11 million fine levied against Southwest Airlines over the company’s 2022 holiday travel meltdown, when the airline canceled nearly 17,000 flights around Christmas during a period of severe weather.
The $11 million was part of a $140 million fine that the Biden administration had imposed in 2023, which was the largest penalty the Department of Transportation had applied to an airline for consumer protection violations. The agency had determined that Southwest broke federal law by failing to provide prompt customer service, flight notifications and refunds to about two million passengers during the 2022 holiday season.
After waiting on hold for hours to speak with customer service representatives, many passengers were forced to make expensive, last-minute alternative plans.
The Trump administration’s announcement reflected its more company-friendly response to travel problems caused by large U.S. airlines. The administration last month killed a Biden-era proposal that would have required airlines to pay passengers up to $775 in cash for significant disruptions within carriers’ control.
The Department of Transportation said in a statement that its decision this week was “in the public interest, as it incentivizes airlines to invest in improving their operations and resiliency, which benefits consumers directly.”
Southwest had agreed to pay a $35 million fine to the U.S. government, with the remaining $105 million going to passengers through vouchers and frequent-flier points. To date, Southwest has paid $24 million to the government. To account for the remaining $11 million, the order said that the airline would receive an $11 million “credit” to improve its performance.
The credit, the Department of Transportation said, “allows for the benefits of the airline’s investment to be realized by the public, rather than resulting in a government monetary penalty.”
In a statement, Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines, thanked Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, for recognizing the airline’s “significant investments” in modernization.
“During the last two years, Southwest successfully completed an operational turnaround that directly benefits our customers with industry-leading, on-time performance and percentage of completed flights without cancellations,” Mr. Lunsford said.
He credited the Trump administration’s decision to waive the fine to the airline’s ability to reform itself after the 2022 chaos.
“We have eliminated or solved all of the problems that had led to the meltdown,” he said.
Mr. Lunsford said the airline would continue to give passengers vouchers for delayed flights, as it had already agreed to do.
Adam Sella covers breaking news for The Times in Washington.
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