Southwest Airlines is getting relief from a major federal penalty as the U.S. Department of Transportation waives the last $11 million of a civil fine tied to the carrier’s severe holiday-travel meltdown in 2022.
The waiver is part of a 2023 settlement in which Southwest was fined $140 million after a systemwide failure stranded more than two million passengers and forced the airline to cancel thousands of flights during a December winter storm.
Regulators say the remaining portion of the fine is being lifted because Southwest has made investments aimed at preventing another large-scale collapse, including upgrades to crew-scheduling technology and operational systems.
The DOT had described the original penalty as the largest ever imposed on an airline, reflecting the scale of the disruption and the strain placed on travelers nationwide. Southwest has said those improvements are ongoing as the company works to rebuild reliability and public trust following the historic breakdown.
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