Southwest Airlines Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Following 2022 Holiday Meltdown

Southwest Airlines Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Following 2022 Holiday Meltdown

Southwest Airlines is in for more turbulence after shareholders filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the company and some of its executives Thursday, weeks after its holiday meltdown stranded thousands of passengers across the country.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, alleges the airline’s executives were “aware of or recklessly disregarded the fact that the false and misleading statements” were being used by Southwest to hide its vulnerability to problems that caused the holiday fiasco. It seeks to recover unspecified damages.

Defendants include the company as well as board chair Gary Kelly, Southwest’s former CEO, Robert Jordan, who took over as CEO in January 2022, and Tammy Romo, the chief financial officer. The airline didn’t immediately respond.