The Latest Breaking News on Southwest passengers experienced a particularly terrifying situation mid-flight

The Transportation Department is looking into whether the airline scheduled more flights than it could handle during a December storm when 16,700 flights were canceled.

The federal government is investigating whether Southwest Airlines knowingly scheduling more flights than it could handle in December, when it ended up canceling nearly 17,000 flights

As Southwest Airlines spiraled out of control during its 16,700 cancellation holiday meltdown, so did the plans for passenger Brenda Angeles, pilot Seth Kornblum and flight attendant Kristen Loucks.

The cancellations left thousands of passengers and staff stranded during the holidays.

Early January saw Southwest Airlines cutting two-thirds of its flights following an operational meltdown stemming from an arctic storm. A canceled flight often leaves passengers in a conundrum over whether to request a refund or sit and wait for the airline to put them on the next available flight.

Southwest Airlines faced another potential crisis just two weeks after its holiday meltdown as the FAA shut down all flights in the U.S. for nearly two hours last Wednesday.

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.

Company had a nightmarish holiday season with Biden administration promising to hold it accountable

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.

More than 3,700 flights were delayed and more than 640 were cancelled earlier in the day

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.