2022 Southwest Airlines scheduling crisis
Southwest Airlines aircraft parked at Santa Barbara Airport during the mass cancellation event
DateDecember 21–30, 2022 (2022-12-21 – 2022-12-30)
LocationUnited States
Also known asSouthwest Airlines holiday meltdown
Southwest Airlines holiday travel meltdown
2022 Southwest Airlines flight cancellations
TypeFlight cancellations
CauseComputer system failure and the December 2022 North American winter storm
OutcomeFormal investigations, flight cancellations and reimbursements, government settlement

In December 2022, Southwest Airlines, a major U.S. airline, and the third largest by domestic passenger volume,[1] canceled more flights than usual, including more than 60% of its flights on two days.[2] The crisis spanned December 21–30, at the peak of the holiday travel season, and is referred to in the news media as the Southwest Airlines holiday travel meltdown[3] or simply as the holiday meltdown,[4][5][6] a name also used by the Southwest Airlines pilot's union[7] and the U.S. Department of Transportation.[8] The disruption to operations was described by Seeking Alpha as the most costly and largest in the history of U.S. airlines.[9] More than 15,000 flights were canceled throughout the crisis.[10][11]

On December 18, 2023, Southwest was fined $140 million by the U.S. Department of Transportation, surpassing the highest previous fine in the agency's history by a factor of about 30.[5][6] As of that date, Southwest had paid about $600M in reimbursement to passengers,[4][6] and reported losses of $1.1 billion[3] to over $1.2B[5] as a result of the events.

Background

Starting from 0.8% in 2012, Southwest's flight cancellation rate had tripled to 2.4% by 2022. The airline had also had higher cancellation rates than other major airlines. Meanwhile, their flight on time rate had slid to its lowest level in 10 years.[12] Michael Santoro, the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), the trade union representing Southwest's pilots, said that Southwest had not invested in an updated software system. There had been complaints for a decade from members of the flight attendant's union that the technology behind Southwest's scheduling system was outdated.[13]

In the early summer of 2022, SWAPA picketed Southwest not for increased pay or benefits—the traditional goals of an airline worker's union—but rather for the improvement of the airline's crew scheduling system. SWAPA said the system was inflexible, often canceling delayed flights when the crews did not have enough remaining allowable duty hours, rather than locating and dispatching backup crews. Crews of canceled flights often found themselves stranded without lodging and the airline would lose track of them, said the union, predicting that these problems would lead to future mass cancellations.[14]

In June and October 2021 Southwest suffered mass cancellation events.[15] Southwest canceled more than 2,000 flights during the October 2021 event, blaming a combination of weather, insufficient staff, and air traffic control. The disruption to Southwest's system was worse than with other airlines at the time. SWAPA blamed the failure on poor planning by management.[16]

Summary and timeline

On Wednesday, December 21, the December 2022 North American winter storm caused severe winter weather across much of the western United States, prompting many airlines to cancel many flights.[17][18] In a December 21 memo to airport ramp staff at Denver International Airport (DEN), Southwest's vice president for ground operations declared a "state of operational emergency" because of an "unusually high number of absences" there, implementing mandatory overtime and disallowing telemedicine appointments to excuse absences due to sickness.[19] The state of operational emergency was only implemented at DEN,[19] which was subjected to unusually frigid conditions.[20] An airline spokesperson later denied that the Denver absences were the result of a "coordinated 'job action'" by ramp employees there.[20]

From Wednesday, December 21, until Sunday, December 25, 2022, Southwest canceled around 25% of its flights.[21] On December 26, Southwest canceled over 50% of its trips, blaming the winter storm.[22][23] Some customers could not contact the airline nor locate their luggage.[20][24] On Monday, December 26, Southwest initiated a massive systemwide "reset", preemptively canceling thousands of scheduled flights that week, and halting ticket sales over concerns that travelers might buy tickets for flights that are subsequently canceled; the airline said it would not allow flights to be rebooked until December 31 or later.[18][25] Parents reported that, on December 26, the airline stopped allowing unaccompanied minors to travel.[26]

By December 27, it became more clear that weather was not the sole cause of the mass cancellations; rather, the airline's operational systems were struggling to recover from the disruptions.[18][23] On December 25 and 26, Southwest canceled over 5,500 flights, whereas its competitor Delta Air Lines canceled 311.[17] It was reported that Southwest cockpit and cabin crews had been suffering extremely long delays contacting crew scheduling, with telephone hold times exceeding five hours.[18] It was later reported that some pilots and flight attendants had gone to sleep with their phones on hold and had woken up the next morning to find that they were still on hold.[27] On December 26, weather at DEN warmed substantially and other airlines largely resumed normal operations, yet Southwest canceled 415 flights, about 75% of its schedule there, accounting for about 90% of the total cancellations at the airport that day.[20] That same day, Southwest canceled over 200 flights at Dallas Love Field, while Dallas Fort Worth International Airport—which is located a short distance away, handles many more flights, and is not used by Southwest—saw 31 cancellations.[28]

On December 28, Southwest canceled 2,348 more flights.[29][30]

On December 30, Southwest began flying most of its regular schedule.[31][32] Chief executive officer (CEO) Robert Jordan issued an apology via video recording seven days after mass cancellations began.[33]

Throughout the crisis, a substantial number of passengers were left stranded at airports across the Southwest route network seeking alternative flights or modes of transportation, with multi-hour wait times for rental car counters a common occurrence.[34] Passengers seeking to purchase tickets on competing carriers encountered substantial price hikes due to increased demand, before some carriers announced temporary price caps on certain routes.[35] Many Southwest crews found themselves competing with stranded passengers for scarce hotel rooms and ground transportation, with no help from the company.[27][36]

On Monday January 2, 2023, three days after Southwest had declared a return to normal operations, 160 flights (3% of its flights) had been canceled, the most of any American airline, according to tracking site FlightAware. Another 422, or 10%, of its scheduled flights were delayed. The majority of disrupted flights were scheduled to fly in or out of Denver.[37]

Cancellations and delays by day

Cancellations and delays by day:[38][39][40][41][10][42]
Date Number of flights canceled Percentage of schedule canceled Number of flights delayed Percentage of flights delayed
December 21–24, 2022 ~25%[21]
December 25, 2022 1,600+[38] 43%[38] 48%
December 26, 2022 2,909 71% 16%
December 27, 2022 2,600+ 64% 22%
December 28, 2022 2,348 61%
December 29, 2022 2,364 58% 206 7%
December 30, 2022 43 1% 944 23%

Causes

Computer technology

Initial investigations said outdated technology was to blame and an industry analyst said it was also due to airlines "running these razor thin margins".[17] The number of full-time tech workers at Southwest declined by 27% from 2018 to 2021 while overall full-time employment at the airline declined by just 6% over the same period.[27] Antiquated computer infrastructure and software systems used for managing and crewing flights contributed heavily to the quantity of flight cancellations; Southwest Airlines was unable at points to locate crew members to adequately staff flights.[43] In November 2022, SWAPA predicted the company was "one IT router failure away from a complete meltdown."[44] At a media event that same month, CEO Jordan mentioned that "the company's growth outstripped the tools needed", referencing the airline's switch to electronic baggage and weather reporting, a technology adopted by other airlines years prior; Southwest had been delivering the reports on paper to all of its daily flights. A representative of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) Local 556, the union representing Southwest's flight attendants, said that the airline's hesitance to adopt new technology had "almost became a running joke around the company".[27]

Rather than using standard commercial scheduling software like that used by other airlines, Southwest relied at the time on two proprietary and internally-maintained software programs, SkySolver and Crew Web Access. Although both programs were available as mobile apps, they frequently failed during even mild weather disruptions, forcing crews to telephone crew scheduling specialists.[27][36] During the crisis, telephone operators at scheduling were overwhelmed, and crews found themselves waiting on hold for hours and being assigned to flights that had already been canceled, in turn preventing them operating other flights before their duty hours expired.[27][36] The airline resorted to training 1,000 additional employees to help crews on the telephone.[27]

Route network

Unlike other large U.S. airlines which mostly use hub-and-spoke systems, Southwest uses point-to-point operations, which makes it unusually vulnerable to scheduling disruptions because its available pilots and flight attendants are not concentrated at its hubs and it cannot easily reroute passengers by sending them to the hubs.[17][18] Experts attributed the crisis largely to the lack of scheduling flexibility inherent in the point-to-point operations model.[45]

Possible lack of regulatory actions

William J. McGee, a consumer advocate and Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, called the Southwest Airlines failures "inevitable" due to Department of Transportation regulatory inaction. He stated that transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg "..has been a tremendous disappointment,"[46] and that he "spent months appearing to regulate rather than actually regulating".[47] McGee is supportive of new legislation that would allow states to take action against airlines, something not possible under the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act.[48]

Aftermath

In a letter from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to CEO Jordan dated December 29, 2022, the Department of Transportation identified that the cancellations were not caused by weather.[49] This places the onus of financial responsibility for the cancellations on Southwest.[50] On January 6, 2023, Southwest issued about US$300 worth of frequent flyer points to affected customers, which must be claimed by March 31, 2023.[51] By January 6, 2023 Southwest stock had lost 8% of its value from immediately before the crisis.[52]

In an unofficial report released by Southwest, the losses for the 4th quarter of 2022 are expected to be $725 million to $825M.[53]

Southwest announced their intention to spend $1.3 billion on maintenance and technology upgrades to correct the problems that caused the crisis.[54]

Investigation

On December 27, 2022, the United States Senate Commerce Committee promised to investigate.[55]

On December 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched a formal investigation.[56] Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has criticized Southwest in various interviews.[57]

Settlement

In December 2023, Southwest reached a settlement and received a $140M fine from the U.S. Department of Transportation.[58][59] The fine is thirty times larger than any other consumer protection penalty, making it the largest in history.[60] As part of the settlement, Southwest agreed to establish a $90B compensation fund for future delays.

Saturday Night Live lampooned the crisis in a skit.[61]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "U.S. domestic market share of leading airlines". Statista. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  2. ↑ Simonetti, Isabella; Eavis, Peter (December 27, 2022). "Southwest's Debacle, Which Stranded Thousands, to Be Felt for Days". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Southwest Airlines in $140 million deal with feds over 2022 holiday travel meltdown". Moneywatch. CBS News. December 18, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Shepardson, David (December 18, 2023). "Southwest Airlines agrees to $140 million penalty over 2022 holiday meltdown". Reuters. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Walker, Mark; Chokshi, Niraj (December 18, 2023). "U.S. Fines Southwest Airlines $140 Million for Holiday Meltdown". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 Yousif, Nadine (December 18, 2023). "SSouthwest Airlines fined $140m for holiday meltdown". BBC. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  7. ↑ Robinson, Amy (28 December 2022). "SWAPA Statement on Southwest's Holiday Meltdown" (Press release). Southwest Airline Pilots Association. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "DOT Penalizes Southwest Airlines $140 Million for 2022 Holiday Meltdown" (Press release). Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Transportation. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  9. ↑ "Southwest Airlines Has Been Badly Broken". Seeking Alpha. December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Sklar, Debbie L. (December 31, 2022). "Southwest Airlines Cancellations Minimal as 'Normal' Returns". Times of San Diego. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ Leone, Lauren (December 31, 2022). "Rochester passengers experience Southwest Airlines holiday disaster". WHEC-TV. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  12. ↑ Matt Stiles; Christopher Hickey (December 29, 2022). "How Southwest failed the holidays: Four charts explaining the cancellations | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  13. ↑ Toohey, Grace; Roosevelt, Margot; Petri, Alexandra (December 28, 2022). "Far from a shock, Southwest meltdown was 'perfect storm' of well-known vulnerabilities". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ↑ Arnold, Kyle (June 21, 2022). "Southwest Airlines pilots at Dallas Love Field: 'Our passengers and pilots deserve better'". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  15. ↑ Victor, Daniel (December 27, 2022). "Travel Meltdowns in Recent History". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Poor planning, bad luck, systemic challenges | Why is Southwest really canceling flights?". ABC13 Houston. December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Neuman, Scott; Ludden, Jennifer (December 27, 2022). "The blizzard is just one reason behind the operational meltdown at Southwest Airlines". NPR. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Arnold, Kyle (December 27, 2022). "Southwest Airlines slashes thousands of flights in days ahead to 'reset' after meltdown". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Duncan, Ian; George, Justin (December 28, 2022). "Southwest didn't heed calls to upgrade tech before meltdown, unions say". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Bradbury, Shelly (December 27, 2022) [December 26, 2022]. "Flight cancellations continue at Denver airport as Southwest struggles". The Denver Post. Denver, Colorado. Retrieved January 1, 2023. Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Perry said Monday that the airline is "still experiencing disruptions" due to winter storms' "lingering effects". Perry also confirmed the authenticity of a leaked internal memo that said Southwest entered a "state of operational emergency" in Denver on Dec. 21 because of an unusually high number of absences among ramp agents. But Perry could not say whether that staffing issue was still affecting flights in Denver and denied that there was any coordinated "job action" by Southwest employees. "That is an internal memo from a number of days ago," Perry said. "I don't know if it is still active. The memo enacted our routine and contractually agreed-to emergency sick procedures... when that occurs, it puts parameters in place — like requiring a doctor's note when an employee returns to work if they call in sick — so that we can ensure reliability for our customers by having the necessary amount of available, working staff."
  21. 1 2 Josephs, Leslie (December 24, 2022). "Airlines cancel more than 12,000 flights during severe winter storms and scramble to rebook holiday travelers". CNBC. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Nationwide travel nightmare hits Colorado Springs Airport as a domino effect leaves travelers stranded". KOAA News 5. December 27, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  23. 1 2 Koenig, David (December 27, 2022). "Southwest Airlines under scrutiny after wave of winter storm cancellations". Associated Press. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  24. ↑ Thomas, Ellen (December 26, 2022). "US Department of Transportation says it plans to look into Southwest Airlines following the airline's 'unacceptable' holiday flight cancellations". Business Insider. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  25. ↑ Martin, Asia (December 26, 2022). "Southwest Airlines says travelers stranded by holiday meltdown can't rebook until December 31st". Business Insider. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Southwest Airlines Stopped Flying Unaccompanied Minors During Travel Chaos". Dallas, Texas: KXAS-TV. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Arnold, Kyle (December 29, 2022). "Holiday meltdown exposes Southwest Airlines' technology woes". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  28. ↑ Ferguson, Lana (December 27, 2022). "Trying to rebook your Southwest flight for before 2023? You might have some trouble". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  29. ↑ Koenig, David (December 28, 2022). "Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball". Associated Press. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  30. ↑ Olson, Emily (December 28, 2022). "Southwest cancels another 4,800 flights as its reduced schedule continues". NPR. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  31. ↑ "At Southwest Airlines, a day of calm after a week of chaos". Associated Press. December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  32. ↑ Arnold, Kyle; Bahari, Sara; Prosser, MAggie (December 30, 2022). "Southwest resumes 'normal' Friday schedule after meltdown". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  33. ↑ @SouthwestAir (December 28, 2022). "On the heels of wide-scale disruptions, we're working diligently to Safely recover our operation & accommodate displaced Customers & Crews. We know this is unacceptable & sincerely apologize. If your travel was impacted, explore self-service options here: https://www.southwest.com/traveldisruptions/" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2022 – via Twitter.
  34. ↑ "Southwest Airlines Disaster Sees Travelers Wait Hours For Rental Cars". The San Francisco Standard. 2022-12-29. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  35. ↑ Olson, Emily (2022-12-30). "Flight fare prices skyrocketed following Southwest's meltdown. Was it price gouging?". NPR. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  36. 1 2 3 Arnold, Kyle (December 30, 2022). "What's the problem with Southwest Airlines scheduling system?". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Southwest Airlines scrubs 160 flights after resuming "normal" schedule". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  38. 1 2 3 Dress, Brad (December 26, 2022). "Flight cancellations surge past 3,000 for Christmas Day". The Hill. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Live Airline Flight Cancellations Info & Statistics". FlightAware. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  40. ↑ Schlappig, Ben (December 28, 2022). "Southwest Airlines Cancels Most Flights, Gives Up". One Mile at a Time. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  41. ↑ Roth, Emma (December 27, 2022). "Southwest cancels thousands of flights, leaving passengers stranded across the US". The Verge. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  42. ↑ Dumas, Breck (December 27, 2022). "Southwest Airlines CEO warns of 'another tough day' as cancellations continue". FOXBusiness. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  43. ↑ Zahn, Max (December 28, 2022). "'Disruption we've never seen': What's causing the Southwest Airlines meltdown?". ABC News. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  44. ↑ Evers-Hillstrom, Karl (December 30, 2022). "Southwest faces lingering questions after winter storm meltdown". The Hill. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  45. ↑ Skores, Alexandra (December 28, 2022). "Should Southwest Airlines reconsider its point-to-point route system?". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  46. ↑ Evers-Hillstrom, Karl; Gangitano, Alex (December 28, 2022). "Buttigieg faces key test amid Southwest meltdown". The Hill. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  47. ↑ "'He's Failed to Take Real Action': Buttigieg Under Fire for Handling of Airline Debacle". www.commondreams.org.
  48. ↑ "Blame the Airlines for American Inequality". 17 January 2023.
  49. ↑ Buttigieg, Pete. "Message from Secretary Buttigieg to Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan 12.29.22" (PDF). Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  50. ↑ "Airline Customer Service Dashboard | US Department of Transportation". www.transportation.gov. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  51. ↑ Adatia, Noor (6 January 2023). "Southwest Airlines doles out travel credits. Is it enough to appease disrupted flyers?". Dallas News. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  52. ↑ Kennedy, Brigid. "The Southwest Airlines meltdown, by the numbers". The Week. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  53. ↑ Pickett, Riley (6 January 2023). "Southwest Expects Q4 Loss After Canceling 16,700 Holiday Flights". Simple Flying. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  54. ↑ Wilen, Holden. "Southwest Airlines plans billion-dollar investment to upgrade technology". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  55. ↑ Mueller, Julia (December 27, 2022). "Commerce Committee chair vows to look into Southwest debacle". The Hill. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  56. ↑ Arnold, Kyle (December 27, 2022). "DOT 'ready to take action to hold Southwest accountable' over thousands of cancellations". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Archived from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  57. ↑ Victor, Daniel (December 30, 2022). "With Only Dozens of Cancellations on Friday, Southwest Steps Closer to Normal". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  58. ↑ "Southwest Airlines reaches $140 million settlement for December 2022 flight-canceling meltdown". AP News. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  59. ↑ "Southwest fined $140 million over 2022 holiday flight disruptions". NBC News. 2023-12-18. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  60. ↑ Pawlyk, Oriana (2023-12-18). "Transportation Department hits Southwest Airlines with $140M fine for 2022 travel fiasco". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  61. ↑ Southwest Airlines Announcement - SNL, retrieved 2023-01-29
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