They Have to Pay Up – Transportation Secretary Talks Southwest Flight Mess

WASHINGTON — They will have to pay for the mess they caused, so says the Transportation Secretary.

Former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg tells Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier the Biden Administration is investigating Southwest Airlines in an attempt to find out why the airline company decided to cancel and delay thousands of flights across the country and hundreds here in the Hoosier State over Christmas weekend.

Southwest blames the major winter storm that hit most of the United States that week. That excuse doesn’t fly with Buttigieg, “we had an epic storm hit the United States, and within a few days, almost all of the airlines had recovered. Matter of fact, every airline recovered except for one: Southwest Airlines, that’s right. They failed to invest in the kind of IT systems that they needed.”

Outdated technology has been a consistent theory among airline experts when discussing the reason behind so many flight delays and cancellations. Buttigieg says Southwest will be held responsible for the costs racked up by customers due to cancellations.

“They (Southwest) are now required to cover lodging, to cover ground expenses, to cover hotels for these delays and cancellations that were their responsibility,” Buttigieg explains.

He says you should keep every receipt for everything you spent if you were waiting on luggage or stuck at the airport waiting on your flight.