Passenger rights ignored: Huge fine for Southwest Airlines

The US low-cost airline Southwest Airlines has been fined $140 million by the Department of Transportation. The background is 16.900 flight cancellations that occurred last year during the holiday season.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is of the opinion that the carrier failed to fulfill its care obligations and literally abandoned around two million passengers. It was also ordered that refunds already made in the amount of 600 million US dollars may not be reversed.

Southwest is now required to provide a $75 credit to passengers delayed by more than three hours due to airline errors, with $90 million available in vouchers.