Overview
- Southwest still owes a $35 million cash penalty and must provide $90 million in travel vouchers under the 2023 settlement addressing the mass disruption.
- The waived $11 million represented the remaining portion of the government fine that had been due by the end of January.
- USDOT cited Southwest’s post-crisis operational investments exceeding $1 billion as the rationale for modifying the penalty.
- Southwest said it completed an operational turnaround with industry-leading on-time performance and a high rate of completed flights without cancellations.
- The move follows other shifts under President Trump’s USDOT, including abandoning a proposed cash-compensation rule for carrier-caused disruptions and dropping a lawsuit over allegedly chronically delayed flights.