The Latest Breaking News from Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines has hired an outside firm to figure out what it needs to prevent another cancellation meltdown like the one over the holidays and “everything that we need to do to mitigate risk is on the table,” CEO Bob Jordan said Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration said late Wednesday that early work traced the blackout to a "damaged database file."

The U.S. aviation sector was struggling to return to normal on Wednesday after a nationwide ground stop imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over a computer issue that forced a 90-minute halt to all U.S. departing flights.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Pete Buttigieg will require Southwest Airlines to give prompt refunds and reimburse extra expenses after its holiday cancellation meltdown, adding pressure from Washington to speed along a move the carrier is already making to placate customers.

Southwest Airlines has regained most of the value it lost on Wall Street when its operations cratered in late December and left hundreds of thousands of passengers without flights around Christmas.

Simon Calder loves the carrier that Herb Kelleher founded in Texas in 1971. But there are limits

Are you done with Southwest Airlines, after your Christmas and New Year’s travel was ruined by the airline?

As Southwest Airlines returns to normal flight scheduling, the company has another daunting task ahead: making amends to inconvenienced flyers — many of whom can’t put a price on their scrapped plans and missed time with family over the holidays.

Southwest Airlines says disruptions that led to more than 16,700 cancelled flights over the holidays will have severe financial consequences for the company.