HOUSTON — More than 15,000 flights were canceled during Southwest Airlines’ operational meltdown late last month. Now, many customers are still waiting for refunds.
According to the Department of Transportation, if your flight is canceled and you choose to cancel your trip as a result, you are entitled to a refund even for non-refundable tickets.
In a letter to the airline, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Southwest must provide refunds to passengers within 7 days if they paid by credit card. For customers who paid by check or cash, the timetable is 20 days.
“We’ve had writers at ‘The Points Guy’ who were impacted and they surprisingly got pretty quick resolutions,” said founder of travel website "The Points Guy" Brian Kelly. “So, I wouldn’t waste a lot of your time following up right away. Give it at least a week but I’m confident they’re going to be pretty generous with their compensation.”
To help customers with the process, Southwest has set up a travel disruption website. The airline said it is giving customers affected by cancelations rewards points on top of any refunds they'll get.
A passenger from Louisiana is suing the airline claiming that Southwest violated federal law by offering credit instead of refunds after the December meltdown. A federal judge has been asked to certify the lawsuit as “class action” to include other passengers. Southwest isn’t commenting on the lawsuit.