The Latest Breaking News on Southwest Airlines Quietly Makes a Move Passengers Will Love

U.S. Department of Transportation officials are investigating Dallas-based Southwest Airlines over whether the carrier’s holiday meltdown that stranded millions of travelers was caused by overscheduling flights.

Southwest Airlines said customers are booking away from the carrier after the December meltdown that resulted in 16,700 cancellations and disrupted holiday travel for millions of travelers.

"I am deeply sorry for the impact to our employees and customers," said Southwest CEO Bob Jordan.

U.S. Department of Transportation officials are investigating Dallas-based Southwest Airlines over whether the carrier’s holiday meltdown that stranded millions of travelers was caused by overscheduling flights.

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.

The airline loves apologizing but it does not seem to be taking its next potential flight disruption all that seriously.

The airline industry expects demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels this year, but recent safety issues could alter those projections.