Yahoo Movies Southwest Airlines executive to testify before Senate panel following flight cancelation 'meltdown'
WASHINGTON — Weeks after canceled flights left thousands of holiday travelers stranded across the nation, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson will testify before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee next week.
The hearing, titled Strengthening Airline Operations and Consumer Protections, follows wide-scale airline disruptions that affected over 15,000 flights during the holidays.
Committee members aim to examine recommendations to improve airline consumer protections and airline operations, according to a release from the committee.
Other witnesses include Captain Casey A. Murray, the president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association; Paul Hudson, the president of Flyers’ Rights; Sharon Pinkerton, the senior vice president for legislative and regulatory policy at Airlines for America; and Dr. Clifford Winston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Not just Southwest?: Southwest flight cancellations meltdown may not be the last for any airline, experts say
Previously: Southwest Airlines operations back to normal Friday after canceling over 15,000 flights
What will the hearing focus on?
The Senate committee hearing will review what caused recent flight disruptions and the impacts cancellations had on customers.
"Southwest Airlines’ operational meltdown in December 2022 left millions of people stranded during the holidays," according to a release from the committee. "The Committee will hear testimony from one panel of witnesses to examine recommendations and determine appropriate corrective actions to improve airline consumer protections and build stronger, more resilient airline operations."
The Southwest debacle last December left many stranded during peak holiday travel, with more than 15,000 flights over one week. The cancellation left customers scrambling to find luggage, rebook travel and get refunds. Some passengers opted to drive to their destinations.
The airline company reported a $220 million loss after taking a hit of $800 million from canceling flights and resulted in a Transportation Department investigation into whether Southwest scheduled more flights than it could handle.
A separate incident in January, unrelated to Southwest, caused a nationwide pause on departures for around 90 minutes after the Federal Aviation Administration experienced a computer glitch.
The glitch affected more than 10,000 flights and cancelled 1,300 flights.
More: How Southwest's mass flight cancellations have forced its passengers to improvise
What caused the Southwest meltdown?
Southwest scaled back its flight schedule in order to catch up after winter weather overwhelmed its technology. The airline had to schedule crews manually, while other airlines with newer cloud-based technology were able to recover faster.
Some had flagged the outdated technology internally for years. In a January note to the airline’s Rapid Rewards members, president and CEO Bob Jordan said the meltdown would speed up "plans to enhance our processes and technology as we continue to focus on adding capabilities to bring rapid improvements for you, our valued customers."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight cancellations prompt Senate to hear from Southwest Airlines COO
