NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Buttigieg Vows to Hold Southwest Airlines to Account for Winter Storm ‘Meltdown’

“From what I can tell Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has promised to hold Southwest Airlines accountable for its system meltdown that has seen the cancellation of thousands of flights and left passengers and their baggage stranded across the U.S. over the Christmas period. “This is an unacceptable situation,” Buttigieg told CNN. “From what I can tell Southwest is unable to locate even where their own crews are, let alone their own passengers, let alone baggage.” Buttigieg said he had spoken to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan and told him the low-cost carrier would need to go “above and beyond” to address the situation. He noted that after unprecedented winter storms most airlines were suffering cancellation rates of around 5 percent. “For Southwest right now, we appear to be north of 70 percent, so their system really has completely melted down. And I made clear that our department will be holding them accountable for their responsibilities to customers,” he said. CNN said that out of 2,743 cancellations already made for domestic or international flights, 2,505 were flights operated by Southwest.

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Philippe Naughton

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