Southwest Airlines is Under Investigation After Cancelled Flights

The Southwest saga continues. 

The federal government announced it would investigate why Southwest Airlines completely crumbled during the busiest time of the year. 

Last week, Winter Storm Elliot wrecked travel plans and left thousands of people across the nation dealing with dangerous conditions including snow, ice and bitterly cold temperatures. 

Many airlines were forced to delay and cancel flights due to the storm, however, Southwest Airlines experienced massive flight disruptions. The airline reportedly canceled almost 3,000 flights on Monday and about 2,600 on Tuesday. 

And that is not all. 2,500 flights were called off for Wednesday and 1,400 for Thursday, according to FlightAware, as mass chaos ensued for the airline. 

As most other airlines were able to recover quickly after the storm, people were left wondering what went wrong with Southwest. CEO Robert Jordan blamed the winter storm for interfering with the airline’s “highly complex” network. 

“We have some real work to do in making this right,” he said. “For now, I want you to know that we are committed to that.”

The senate commerce committee has promised an investigation into “whether the airline was meeting its legal obligations to stranded customers,” The Guardian reported. “Two Senate Democrats called on Southwest to provide “significant” compensation for stranded travelers, saying that the airline has the money because it plans to pay $428m in dividends next month.”