FAA Lifts Order That Grounded All Southwest Airlines Flights

By Yehudit Garmaise

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its order to ground all Southwest Airlines flights nationwide after the airline explained it had resolved its “intermittent technology issues.” 

The only Southwest flights still on hold are those arriving at Dallas Love Field Airport, although other flights may continue to be delayed.

Southwest’s problems with what a spokesperson called “equipment issues” happened four months after the airline canceled 16,700 flights. This accounted for approximately half of the airline’s scheduled flights between December 20 and 29, 2022 and was blamed on computer system staff scheduling issues.

In March, Southwest said it created an action plan to prevent the airline from having to cancel so many flights again. However, on Tuesday morning, the flight tracking website FlightAware reported nearly 2,500 of Southwest’s flights, 30% of the airline’s scheduled takeoffs, were delayed.

After several Southwest travelers griped on social media about their delayed flights, the airline responded  by writing, “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we’re hoping to get everyone going ASAP.” 

Photo Credit: Flickr