Trump admin drops Biden-era Southwest Airlines – Business News
The Trump administration dropped a lawsuit in opposition to Southwest Airlines over its allegedly power flight delays.
In March, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) was in talks with the airline relating to the lawsuit, which was initiated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) underneath then-President Joe Biden.
According to the identical report, Southwest Airlines had till May 30 to reply to the lawsuit, however the DOJ moved to drop the case forward of that date.
“We appreciate the DOT’s decision to abandon its lawsuit against Southwest, which we believe is the correct result in this case,” a Southwest spokesperson advised Fox Business.
The DOT filed the lawsuit in January during the ultimate days of the Biden administration, accusing the airline of “illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights and disrupting passengers’ travel,” in line with a DOT assertion.
The Southwest spokesperson stated that the 2 flights on the core of the Biden administration’s lawsuit occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which offered difficulties.
The Trump administration dropped its lawsuit in opposition to Southwest Airlines, allegedly over the power flight delays. AP
“The two flights at issue occurred years ago when the industry faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and were delayed due to issues outside of Southwest’s control in numerous cases. Since the pandemic, we have made significant investments in our operation, which in 2024 provided our customers with best-in-class operational reliability,” the Southwest spokesperson advised FOX Business.
The two flights the lawsuit targeted on had been one between Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, California, and one other between Baltimore and Cleveland.
According to a assertion from the Biden DOT, 180 passengers had been impacted by the disruptions between April and August 2022.
“Each flight was chronically delayed for five straight months,” the Biden DOT wrote.
The report revealed that the airline had till May 30 to reply to the lawsuit, however the Department of Justice (DOJ) determined to drop the case. AP
It additionally included a criticism that the airline was partaking in “unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive” practices via its alleged use of inaccurate departure and arrival occasions.
Then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasised in a assertion the need for airways to make sure they supply vacationers with correct departure and arrival occasions.
The Transportation Department now says that the lawsuit “should have never been brought forward. Southwest has remedied the underlying issues and USDOT will work with them fairly, not sue them for political gain,” in line with a assertion to FOX Business from a DOT spokesperson.
The Justice Department declined to remark.
