‘We Messed Up’: Southwest Executive Testifies On Holiday Meltdown Chaos
Daily WireNov 26, 2022
The Facts
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on Thursday into the disruptions that occurred at Southwest Airlines over the holiday season. The cancelation of roughly 16K flights by the airline over the last 11 days of December saw 2M passengers affected.
In his testimony, COO Andrew Watterson apologized to the public and attributed the crisis to a lack of "winter operational resilience" that led to crews being stranded and a breakdown of the airline's employee scheduling system. He added that the disruption meant that the airline was unable to locate or contact their staff.
The Spin
Left narrative
The sad state of air travel in this country was completely avoidable. Decades of deregulation and corporate handouts have left the Federal Aviation Administration powerless to effectively intervene, with consumers left at the mercy of airlines. The turbulent air industry has shown itself incapable of self-regulation, as crisis after crisis has demonstrated, with the Southwest Airlines debacle being just another chapter in this story. Political leaders need to find the will to further airline regulation to end consumer abuses and ensure our air infrastructure is robust and efficient.
Right narrative
The air travel industry needs less regulation, not more. Commercial aviation is one of the most competitive industries in the world, and operates on razor-thin profit margins. The push for more airline regulation may be good for optics but will force companies to pass the new costs onto the consumer and reduce flights from smaller markets. Southwest is taking accountability for its mistakes and has reimbursed most customers, but they could not stop historic winter storms from disrupting air travel in the US.
