Southwest Airlines Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Holiday Flight Cancellations

More than 15,000 Southwest Airlines flights were cancelled in late December, which the company blamed on inclement weather, but federal officials say was caused by the company’s practices and actions.

Following the sudden cancellation of thousands of flights over the days after Christmas, Southwest Airlines faces a class action lawsuit, alleging that the internally created crisis left travelers stranded during the holiday season and that the company failed to provide prompt refunds as required by it’s own Contract of Carriage and federal law.

The complaint (PDF) was filed by Eric Capdeville in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on December 30, joining a growing number of similar lawsuits against Southwest Airlines, which cancelled more than 15,000 flights in late December.

Southwest has been the largest domestic airline in the U.S. since 2003, with more than 130 million passengers annually.

Southwest Holiday Flight Cancellations

Beginning on December 23, Southwest began cancelling flights nationwide, blaming the cancellations on a massive snowstorm. However, it was the only air carrier to suffer such massive cancellations, and it soon became clear that out-dated legacy systems and internal decisions caused the cascading flight problems.

The Department of Transportation has blamed the cancellations on Southwest’s actions or failure to act, indicating the weather just exacerbated problems with the way the air carrier does business.

According to the lawsuit, Capdeville purchased two tickets in October, dated for December 27. However, Southwest canceled nearly one-third of flights traveling in and out of New Orleans; the day Capdeville was meant to travel.

Nearly all other airlines had already resumed normal operations by that day. There were no other flights to get him to his destination and he was only offered a flight credit, losing what he spent on a hotel at his intended destination.

“Southwest’s Contract of Carriage mandates refunds in this situation as well as full compensation for incurred costs and resultant cancellations for the failure of the carriage contract,” Capdeville’s lawsuit states. “Southwest’s failure to provide prompt refunds for canceled flights violates not only its own Contract of Carriage, but also federal law.”

Stranded Passengers Filing Lawsuits Nationwide

The Southwest lawsuit is one of many filed by passengers who were affected by the widespread cancellations which stranded thousands of passengers across the country.

The class action lawsuit alleges Southwest failed to provide refunds to passengers who were left stranded. Southwest promised to reimburse passengers for reasonable expenses like hotel stays, car rentals, and meals, but it only offered flight credit after flights were canceled and passengers were unable to book an alternative. Furthermore, reimbursement was not offered promptly.

Another lawsuit was filed by a San Diego resident who bought a ticket to fly her son home from Ohio, but the flight was canceled by Southwest. That lawsuit alleges Southwest should have known it would not be able to resume normal functions due to inadequate staffing.

Southwest blamed the problem on the massive storm that swept the country, but other operational problems also were attributed to the meltdown, including staffing shortages, ineffective operational models, and outdated flight scheduling software.

Despite some passengers being issued vouchers, passengers couldn’t use the tickets, at no fault of their own. The lawsuit alleges passengers were not getting the benefit they were promised by the company.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called the Southwest disruption “unacceptable.”

Operations were restored on December 30, several full days after other airlines had already recovered operational function following the storm. Southwest said it would reimburse passengers for reasonable expenses, but it would take several weeks. The company launched a website on December 28, to aid in the refund process.