Government waives part of a Biden-era fine against Southwest Airlines

The U S Department of Transportation is waiving part of a fine assessed against Southwest Airlines after the company canceled thousands of flights during a winter storm in Under a settlement reached by the Biden administration Southwest agreed to a million civil penalty The regime revealed at the time that the penalty was the largest it had ever imposed on an airline for violating consumer protection laws Preponderance of the money went toward compensation for travelers But Southwest agreed to pay million to the U S Treasury Southwest made a million payment in and a second million payment earlier this year But the Transportation Department issued an order Friday waiving the final million payment which was due Jan The department announced Southwest should get credit for significantly improving its on-time performance and investing in structure operations Related Articles A rare dance costume exhibit debuts at Denver airport More than Denver flights canceled as DIA s air traffic controllers work without pay DIA seeks to pay air traffic controllers wages as airport braces for FAA s flight reductions Windy day at Denver airport brings more than flight delays Thunderstorms delay more than flights at DIA DOT believes that this approach is in the masses interest as it incentivizes airlines to invest in improving their operations and resiliency which benefits consumers directly the department declared in a declaration This credit structure allows for the benefits of the airline s assets to be realized by the residents rather than resulting in a governing body monetary penalty The fine stemmed from a winter storm in December that paralyzed Southwest s operations in Denver and Chicago and then snowballed when a crew-rescheduling system couldn t keep up with the chaos Ultimately the airline canceled flights and stranded more than million travelers The Biden administration determined that Southwest had violated the law by failing to help customers who were stranded in airports and hotels leaving a multitude of of them to scramble for other flights A multitude of who called the airline s overwhelmed customer amenity center got busy signals or were stuck on hold for hours Even before the settlement the nation s fourth-biggest airline by revenue mentioned the meltdown cost it more than billion in refunds and reimbursements extra costs and lost ticket sales over several months Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter