Southwest Airlines has been sued by a passenger for failing to provide a refund after canceling thousands of flights over the holidays due to operational failures, according to court documents on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd January, 2023) Southwest Airlines has been sued by a passenger for failing to provide a refund after canceling thousands of flights over the holidays due to operational failures, according to court documents on Tuesday.
The lawsuit was filed on December 30 in a New Orleans Federal court by passenger Eric Capdeville, who accused Southwest of a breach of contract after the airline canceled more than 14,000 flights during the holidays.
The suit alleges that Southwest used out-of-date legacy systems and the US Department of Transportation confirmed that the flight cancellations over the holidays resulted from the airline's operational decisions.
Capdeville seeks damages for himself and for other passengers who did not receive refunds and reimbursement for canceled flights since December 24.
Southwest initially suggested that the passengers could submit flight cancellation receipts from December 24 to January 2 to be considered for reimbursement and the process could take weeks, according to the court documents.
The airline's contract of carriage mandates fare refunds and reimbursement of associated costs to passengers who cannot be rebooked. The customer service agreement requires the refunds to be issued within seven business days from a passenger's request for tickets purchased with a credit card, and within 20 days for tickets purchased with cash.
