WASHINGTON — This morning Southwest Airlines will testify in front of Congress. The Senate Commerce Committee wants to know what led to the airlines' massive cancelation meltdown around Christmas.
Around Christmas, Southwest airlines canceled more 16,000 flights, which stranded around 2 million passengers. The airline initially blamed weather, but no other airlines suffered such extensive outages.
Thursday, Congress wants answers. The committee wants the hearing to help determine what went wrong with the airline’s operations. It also wants to know what can be done to improve passenger protection when mass cancelations happen.
Curiously, senators will hear from a member of Southwest’s leadership team, but not the CEO. Andrew Watterson, Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Airlines will field questions in the hearing.
The committee will also hear from the president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Captain Casey A. Murray. Capt. Murray has been outspoken about the airline’s lack of preparedness prior to the December debacle.
He has said the airline uses outdated technology and processes. Senators will also hear from several other experts as they attempt to get the bottom of the December debacle.
Paul Hudson, President, Flyers' Rights, Sharon Pinkerton, Senior Vice President, Legislative and Regulatory Policy, Airlines for America and Dr. Clifford Winston, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution have all been called to testify as well.
The Senate committee hopes to find the causes and impacts of recent air travel disruptions as well as consumer impacts. From there a spokesperson said it will make assessments on recommendations and possible corrective actions for airlines.