White House Says Southwest ‘Failed’ Customers in Travel Meltdown

The White House said Southwest Airlines Co. should bear full responsibility for massive holiday travel disruptions that stranded thousands of passengers across the US, and would be held accountable by the administration.

“Southwest Airlines failed its customers, point blank,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Tuesday. “While every major airline faced challenges from a pre-Christmas storm that wreaked havoc on the aviation system, all major airlines except for one, which is Southwest clearly, were able to recover quickly.”

The airline suffered a holiday meltdown blamed on an outdated scheduling system that failed to keep pace ...