The U.S. Division of Transportation introduced it can waive the remaining $11 million in fines Southwest Airways owed as a part of a report $140 million penalty over its operational meltdown throughout vacation journey in 2022.
“In lieu of a fee of an $11 million civil penalty to the federal government, this order supplies Southwest with an $11 million credit score for considerably bettering its on-time efficiency and completion issue via its $112.4 million funding in its Community Operations Management (NOC),” the DOT mentioned in an up to date order this week.
The DOT mentioned waiving the installment will incentivize airways to make investments in the direction of bettering their operations and resiliency that instantly advantages prospects.
Airplanes with Southwest Airways sit on the tarmac on the Baltimore/Washington Worldwide Thurgood Marshall Airport on November 26, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Airways anticipate as much as 31 million vacationers to fly through the Thanksgiving vacation between November 21 and December 1.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Photos
“This credit score construction permits for the advantages of the airline’s funding to be realized by the general public, quite than leading to a authorities financial penalty,” DOT added.
The Biden administration imposed the $140 million civilian penalty on the airline in 2023 — the biggest in opposition to an airline in historical past.
Many of the superb required Southwest to improve its expertise and procedures to enhance reliability and to compensate passengers for any future cancellations or important delays brought on by the airline.
Beneath the penalty, Southwest was additionally required to pay $35 million to the U.S. treasury in three installments– two installments of $12 million and one installment of $11 million. The ultimate installment of $11 million, which was due on Jan. 31 has now been waived.
In an announcement to ABC, Southwest mentioned, “Southwest Airways is grateful to Secretary Duffy and the DOT Crew for recognizing Southwest’s important investments in modernizing our operations. Over the past two years, Southwest efficiently accomplished an operational turnaround that instantly advantages our Clients with business main on-time efficiency and proportion of accomplished flights with out cancellations.”
As an enormous winter storm battered the U.S. through the 2022 vacation season, the airline cancelled greater than 16,900 flights, stranding greater than 2 million passengers, the DOT mentioned on the time.
Along with the superb imposed by the DOT, the airline agreed to pay about $600 million in refunds and reimbursements to prospects, DOT mentioned on the time it imposed the penalties.
