
The Department of Transportation fined Southwest Airlines $140 million for major flight disruptions during the 2022 holiday season and resulted in nearly 17,000 significantly delayed or canceled flights, the DOT announced Monday. The civil penalty — which the DOT said is 30 times larger than any prior department penalty for consumer protection violations — will mostly go toward paying future Southwest passengers affected by major delays or cancellations caused by the airline, the Transportation Department said in a release. It is in addition to $600 million in refunds and reimbursements...