(Act Daily News) — Federal officers say they’re performing on “thousands” of complaints by Southwest Airlines clients after its days-long vacation journey meltdown — together with complaints that Southwest just isn’t making good on its pledge to concern refunds.
The Department of Transportation “has sent every complaint directly to Southwest” and is now demanding the airline “provide substantive responses” to every inside 60 days.
“Since the Southwest meltdown, DOT has received thousands of consumer complaints about Southwest — including complaints about lack of ticket refunds and reimbursements for services when a traveler was stranded,” the Department of Transportation mentioned in a press release supplied first to Act Daily News.
Southwest Airlines says it canceled greater than 16,000 flights between December 21 and December 31, noting in a monetary submitting that the cascading logistical failures value the airline between $725 million and $825 million in misplaced income, further crew prices, and passenger refunds.
Act Daily News has reached out to Southwest for remark.
The Department of Transportation has required Southwest to honor passenger refund requests “within 7 business days if the traveler paid for the ticket by card and 20 days if they paid by cash or check,” if Southwest canceled or considerably delayed a flight, “regardless of the reason.”
Southwest clients ought to first file their refund request with Southwest by its web site, the DOT advises. If they don’t seem to be getting refunds, they need to then file a criticism with DOT.
This announcement comes after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg advised Southwest leaders on December 29 that the company will “use the fullest extent of its investigative and enforcement powers to hold Southwest accountable if it fails to adhere to the promises made to reimburse passengers.”
Top picture: Southwest Airlines planes at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) on December 28, 2022. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)