WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Department of Transportation has alerted passengers that Southwest Airlines must compensate them with a transferrable voucher worth at least $75 for any controllable cancellation or delay that causes passengers to reach their destination three or more hours after their scheduled arrival time.
Southwest is required to provide this compensation as part of the Department's recent enforcement action holding the airline accountable for its 2022 holiday meltdown that stranded millions of passengers across the country.
'After the 2022 holiday meltdown, our department held Southwest Airlines accountable-and now the airline is required to compensate passengers for lengthy delays and cancellations that they cause,' said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Southwest is required to provide compensation if a flight was cancelled or delayed within seven days of the scheduled departure date; Passengers arrived at their destination three or more hours later than planned; and The delay or cancellation was caused by something that Southwest could control, such as a maintenance or staffing issue.
However, DOT made it clear that passengers will not be eligible for compensation if the cause of the disruption was not within the airline's control, such as bad weather.
As per the agreement with DOT, Southwest has created an easy-to-find online form (southwest.com/delayform) for passengers to request compensation. Passengers must submit requests within one year from the date of the delayed/cancelled flight.
DOT said it will be closely monitoring Southwest's compensation program to ensure that passengers get the relief they are owed.
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