Name: Evidence Suggests Buttigieg and Southwest Were Aware of Problems Before Christmas Meltdown
Uploaded: 2023-01-05T03:44:54.000Z
Description: Southwest Airlines has blamed their massive flight cancellations on the winter weather, and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has promised to hold them accountable, but data from earlier in the year indicates that both parties were aware of potential transportation and computer problems before they happened.

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

NTD Plus

News

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Pentagon Scraps Deployment of 4,000 Troops to Poland

9/11 Memorial and Museum Adds 7th Moment of Silence

AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Launch Joint Venture to Tackle Dead Zones

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.

Stefania Cox

Trump Committed to US Defense, Prosperity, Amid China Talks: Expert

Jerome Powell Ends Tenure as Fed Chair

US Government Sues Chick-fil-A Over Religious Rights

Melina Wisecup is NTD's congressional correspondent based in Washington, covering Capitol Hill and campaign politics.

Melina Wisecup

California Gubernatorial Candidates Make Closing Pitches to Voters 

Jason Blair is a national correspondent for NTD News based in California. 

Jason Blair

Federal Judge Partly Blocks Texas Immigration Law

Trump Announces National Garden of American Heroes Plans

Top Officer: Navy Funding Could Lapse by July

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 15)

Paul Greaney is an NTD news anchor and producer. Since joining the company in 2018, he has anchored the station’s flagship Evening News broadcast, launched the NTD Business show, and produced documentary reports on pointed issues. 

The highlight of Paul’s time in the field was his coverage of the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Paul Greaney

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 14)

Kevin Hogan is an NTD News data reporter and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Kevin covers breaking news, as well as U.S. and global current events. He conveys the news through data visualizations and investigates pressing issues.

Kevin Hogan

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 13)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 12)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 11)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 8)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 7)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 6)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 5)

NTD News Today Full Broadcast (May 4)

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

China Sends Warships to Pacific Drill as Tensions With Japan Rise

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

2 US Embassy Personnel Assigned to Cartel Case Killed in Car Accident

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

US News

Gunman Kills 8 Children, Including 7 of His Own, in Louisiana Mass Shooting

Flora Hua is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers China news, U.S.-China relations, and human rights issues. Flora primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus."  

Flora Hua

Trump: Seized Iranian Ship May Have ‘A Gift From China’

Joseph Lord is a congressional reporter for The Epoch Times.


Joseph Lord

Aldgra Fredly is a freelance writer covering U.S. and Asia Pacific news for The Epoch Times.

Aldgra Fredly

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition: Spokesman

Wildfires Across Georgia and Florida Have Destroyed Nearly 50 Homes and Are Forcing Evacuations

US Warns of China Hacks via Routers, Smart Devices

Juliet Song is an international correspondent exclusively covering China news for NTD. She primarily contributes to NTD's "China in Focus," covering U.S.-China relations, the Chinese regime's human rights abuses, and domestic unrest inside China.

Juliet Song

2 Americans Among Suspected Communist Rebels Killed in Clashes With Troops, Philippine Officials Say

Ryan Morgan is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on military and foreign affairs. He was previously a news writer for NTD. 


Ryan Morgan

Mari Otsu is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. 

Mari Otsu

World News

Middle East

Iran

3 US Warships Fend Off Iranian Attacks, Trump Says Ceasefire Still Holds

Health News

3 Dead in Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak on Cruise Ship in Atlantic Ocean: WHO

Southwest Airlines has blamed their massive flight cancellations on the winter weather, and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has promised to hold them accountable, but data from earlier in the year indicates that both parties were aware of potential transportation and computer problems before they happened.

The National Association of Attorneys General sent a <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2022-08-31-Airline-Accountability-and-Increased-Consumer-Protection.pdf">letter</a> in August 2022 to leaders in Congress, warning them that the offices of state attorneys general across the nation have received thousands of complaints from “outraged airline passengers about airline customer service.” The letter asserted the Department of Transporation (DOT) had “failed to respond” to thousands of complaints about various airlines, saying the DOT was “unable or unwilling” to hold the companies accountable.

Among the complaints were passengers' frustrations about consistent failures to provide credits to those who lost travel opportunities, despite requirements that the companies do so.

The letter went on to say that “federal law places the central responsibility for addressing violations of airline consumer protection with the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT),” and despite the law enforcement offices forwarding the complaints, the DOT had, at that point “failed to respond and to provide appropriate recourse in those cases.”

The attorneys general claimed that both Republican and Democrat presidents have “failed to spur the US DOT to act in a manner that responds effectively to consumer complaints,” saying that this lack of action, “this vacuum of oversight allows airlines to mistreat consumers and leaves consumers without effective redress [and] decreased levels of competition, the ability of the marketplace to punish or reward industry behavior that harms or helps consumers is lessened, increasing the importance of effective enforcement of consumer protection requirements.”

The letter was signed by the attorneys general of 38 states and came just before Buttigieg <a href="https://youtu.be/6FlD6fHq8-g">appeared</a> on national television to promise that travel conditions will improve by the holidays: In a September appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Buttigieg <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FlD6fHq8-g&t=145s">said</a> airline travel “is going to get better by the holidays.” He added that “we're really pressing the airlines to deliver better service.”

Buttigieg also received a <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letter_from_ny_ag_letitia_james_to_secretary_pete_buttigieg_8.2.2022.pdf">letter</a> from New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, alerting him to "the deeply troubling and escalating pattern of airlines delaying and canceling flights," especially around holidays. She included a list of possible steps he may take to stop the behavior.

Southwest Airlines responded to The Epoch Times inquiry about their service schedule following the interruption in service, which resulted in more than 12,000 canceled flights, by referencing “current challenges created by Winter Storm Elliott.”

The airline CEO Bob Jordan, however, indicated in a recent <a href="https://swamedia.com/releases/release-7e05ea1637937dc7354128bee7a3fc35-ceo-bob-jordan-looks-forward-after-normal-operations-resume">press release</a> that his company believes it can better serve customers by implementing its “plans to invest in tools and technology and processes.” Jordan went on to say, “One of our five-year strategic plan priorities established in 2021 is to modernize the operation, along with a 2022 company focus area of getting back to our historic operational reliability and efficiency.”

Questions have arisen about why these upgrades weren’t already in place, considering that Southwest received $7.2 billion in federal subsidies for payroll and operations since 2020, according to OpenTheBooks.com. The airline recently declared it will resume paying stockholders a quarterly dividend, at an annual cost of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/southwest-airlines-reinstates-quarterly-dividend-2022-12-07/">$428 million</a>.

The business made the declaration only a few days after its CEO, who earns <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2022/02/07/southwest-airlines-new-ceo-bob-jordan-gets-pay-raise-increased-bonus-potential/">$9 million</a> annually, <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/12/28/southwest-airlines-ceo-bob-jordan-behind-on-software-modernization-canceled-flights/">acknowledged</a> the airline had lagged in updating its <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/27/1145616523/southwest-airlines-flight-cancellations-2022">computer and scheduling systems</a>. That failure contributed to the holiday travel calamity, according to a number of Southwest employees who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/southwest-says-scheduling-system-played-a-role-in-flight-meldown-2022-12">attributed</a> the chaos to the company’s “outdated technology.”

Following the company’s massive failure, Buttigieg posted a <a href="https://twitter.com/SecretaryPete/status/1608598972192657409?s=20&t=WEleKfrNETHvoNtYmUyllA">video</a> speaking to travelers late on Dec. 29, saying they have been getting “thousands” of complaints from stranded passengers due to the “operational meltdown” of Southwest Airlines.

“If you’re one of those passengers, there’s something I want you to know, which is that the U.S. Department of Transportation has your back. I’m disappointed that Southwest has not done more to proactively communicate with passengers the ways they’re going to take care of you, so I want to make sure you know some of the ways that you’re owed compensation if you have been in this situation since Christmas Eve.

The transportation secretary went on to say that passengers are not only owed refunds if they chose not to travel after their flights were canceled, but also to be compensated if the travelers had to book with another airline, find ground transportation, or invest in basic necessities like food, if they were delayed due to a situation under Southwest’s control.

Buttigieg pointed travelers to the Department of Transportation’s Consumer Complaint <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint">page</a> where a complaint can be filed if an airline does not provide compensation owed to customers. He also called out the airline in a letter obtained by Peter Doocy of Fox News.

“No amount of financial compensation can fully make up for passengers who missed moments with their families that they can never get back—Christmas, birthdays, weddings, and other special events," Buttigieg <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pete-buttigieg-calls-out-southwest-airlines-letter-lays-out-priorities">said</a> in the letter to Southwest's CEO. "That’s why it is so critical for Southwest to begin by reimbursing passengers for those costs that can be measured in dollars [and] cents."

His video did not reference the August letter from the attorneys general or a second letter signed by 34 attorneys general sent on Dec. 19. The second letter, which was spearheaded by Colorado's Democrat Attorney General Phil Weiser, pleaded with Buttigieg to "impose significant fines for cancellations and extended delays that are not weather-related or otherwise unavoidable."

The Department of Transportation did not respond to The Epoch Times before press time.

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/evidence-suggests-buttigieg-and-southwest-were-aware-of-problems-before-christmas-meltdown_4959846.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

Latest

Videos

Business News

04_Top Stories

Latest Clips

Southwest Airlines

Daniel Monaghan is a reporter for NTD News covering culture, social issues, and education. He holds a BA in Political Science and Government.

Daniel Monaghan

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Savannah Pointer is a politics reporter for The Epoch Times. She can be reached at savannah.pointer@epochtimes.us

Savannah Hulsey Pointer

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.