Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released a joint statement Tuesday slamming Southwest Airlines for “failing” customers and demanding compensation for those who had holiday plans “ruined” by the airline’s woes.
Citing the flight-tracking website FlightAware, the AP reported that 2,900 Southwest flights were canceled Monday. Mass cancellations left some passengers stranded and separated from their luggage for days, with some resorting to driving to their desired destinations.
Markey and Blumenthal, both members of the Senate Commerce Committee, called for the company to “fairly” compensate passengers not just for things like canceled flights, hotels, meals and transportation but also for “disruption to their holiday plans.”
“Instead of a holiday spent celebrating with family and friends, passengers are sleeping in airports or desperately trying to reach customer service agents,” the senators said. “For those travelers whose holidays have been ruined, there is no real way for Southwest to make this right.”
The senators argued a nationwide severe winter storm should not serve as a reason for Southwest not to repay passengers.
“The historic storm was an act of nature, but consumers deserve major remedies for acts of massive mismanagement — air travel malpractice,” Blumenthal said in a tweet accompanying the statement.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told the Wall Street Journal Monday the mass cancellation situation is “the largest-scale event that I’ve ever seen.” The WSJ reported Southwest’s crew-scheduling system was partly to blame for the issues, noting it was overwhelmed by changes caused by the widespread severe weather.
U.S. Department of Transportation tweeted Monday it was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service,” and said it would look into the situation. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg also tweeted that he’s monitoring the situation.
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