Southwest Airlines Is Sued for Not Providing Refunds After Meltdown

The departures board is overwhelmed with delayed and cancelled flights after U.S. airlines, led by Southwest, canceled thousands of flights due to a massive winter storm which swept over much of the country before and during the Christmas holiday weekend, at Dallas Love Field Airport in Dallas on Dec. 28, 2022. Shelby Tauber/Reuters

NEW YORK—Southwest Airlines has been sued by a passenger who said it failed to provide refunds to passengers left stranded when an operational meltdown led the carrier to cancel more than 15,000 flights late last month.

In a proposed class action filed on Dec. 30 in New Orleans federal court, Eric Capdeville accused Southwest of breach of contract after a fierce winter storm that swept across the United States shortly before Christmas upended the carrier’s schedule.