DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – Southwest Airlines has responded to an upcoming government report that claims the Dallas-based airline allegedly regularly flew passengers on jets with unconfirmed maintenance records.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Transportation’s report accuses Southwest of flying more than 17 million passengers on the jets over a two-year-span.
The WSJ report also said the draft report also criticized the Federal Aviation Authority in Dallas for allowing Southwest to “fly aircraft with unresolved safety concerns.”
It cited one 2019 incident, where “airline smashed two wingtips of a plane on a runway when pilots repeatedly tried to land in high winds.” The report concluded that FAA’s oversight of Southwest was “lax, ineffective and inconsistent.”
In response to WBAP’s request for comment, Southwest sent this statement:
“We have communicated our disappointment in the draft audit report to the OIG and will continue to communicate any concerns directly with its office. Southwest maintains a culture of compliance, recognizing the Safety of our operation as the most important thing we do. We are considered one of the world’s most admired companies and uphold an unprecedented safety record. As part of our Safety Culture, we have a transparent relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which includes an FAA-Approved Safety Management System designed to manage and mitigate operational risks and execute safe operating programs and practices. Our operational systems are built to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements and our Safety Management System is integrated into all of our operational practices in order to evaluate and continuously improve Safety performance. The success of our business depends, in and of itself, on the Safety of our operation, and while we work to improve each and every day, any implication that we would tolerate a relaxing of standards is unfounded.”
There’s no word on when the report will be released.
The report comes at a difficult time for Southwest, as the airliner deals with massive financial losses from the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max jets in the wake of two overseas crashes.
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