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Southwest Flight Delays and Cancellations: What You’re Owed and How the Airline Will Help You

Find out what steps you should take when you have flight disruptions with Southwest Airlines, when you’re owed refunds and compensation, and what to do to get it.

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Southwest Flight Delays and Cancellations: What You’re Owed and How the Airline Will Help You
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Joanna Teljeur

Last Updated: January 29, 2025

Edited by: Anton Radchenko

In January, the U.S. Department of Transportation sued Southwest Airlines for two chronically delayed flights. The first was between Chicago Midway Airport and Oakland, California, and the other was between Baltimore, MD and Cleveland, Ohio. In total, they amounted to 180 flight disruptions between April and August 2022. Moreover, the DOT found that Southwest was responsible for 90% of the delays. 

This guide will explain how Southwest will assist you if your flight is delayed or cancelled, what you’re entitled to, and steps you can take to minimize the inconvenience.

Southwest Delayed Flights

Southwest gives you 2 options when you have lengthy flight delays lasting over 3 hours for domestic travel and 6 or more hours for flights outside the United States::

  1. Get a new booking at no extra cost.

    Southwest might automatically rebook you and send you a notification about your new ticket. If the new flight works for you, you don’t have to do anything. However, if the new flight doesn’t work for your schedule, you can choose one that you prefer without any additional fees.
  2. Cancel your flight and get a refund.

If you don’t want to continue with your plans as a result of the extensive delays, you can cancel your flight up to 10 minutes before departure without a fee and get a cash refund or flight credits. Southwest will probably push you towards accepting credit for future travel, but the U.S Department of Transportation requires airlines to offer you a cash refund if you choose. If you opt for a cash refund, you should receive it automatically within 7 days.

Need help getting your refund?Enter your flight details below to get started!Get your refund

Southwest Canceled Flights & Schedule Changes

If your flight is canceled by Southwest, then you can either accept a rebooking, choose your own alternate flight, or opt for a cash refund, all free of additional fees. These options are available to all passengers regardless of your ticket price, as well as non-refundable ticket holders. Also, the refund must include the fees for all extras added to your ticket like baggage and extra legroom.

If Southwest changes your flight schedule8 or more days before your date of departure, you are also entitled to a refund or a rebooking. Again, you can accept the new flight provided by the airline, choose your own, or cancel your flight and accept a cash refund or flight credits. If you do cancel your flight, be sure you do it at least 10 minutes before departure or you’ll be classified as a no show and you won’t get a refund.

Family at airport waiting with luggage

How Southwest Will Help You

If your flight is delayed or canceled because of an event within Southwest’s control like a staffing or technical problem, they will provide assistance at the airport if you request it.

  • Food and Drink: Ask for meal vouchers if your flight is delayed for 3 hours or more. If you can’t use the vouchers, keep the receipts for any meals you have to pay for because Southwest might reimburse you for this expense.
  • Hotel Accommodation: If your plans didn’t involve an overnight stopover and you’re stuck at the airport because of a delay or cancelled flight within Southwest’s control, you might be given free lodging and related transport if you request it. If you don’t get assistance with lodging, then keep your receipts for reimbursement.
tip

You have one year from your flight date to make a reimbursement claim.

Southwest Overbooked Flights

On a very rare occasion, Southwest will oversell the seats on a flight to optimize profits. They use complex systems to make sure that every flight is full by taking into account the possibility of no-shows. However, if everyone arrives at the gate, then some ticketed passengers will be bumped or denied boarding

Fortunately, if this happens to you, you can get up to $1,550 in compensation from Southwest but only if you are involuntarily bumped. If you volunteered your seat in exchange for a predetermined travel package or other perks, then you will not be able to get the same compensation as an involuntarily bumped passenger. 

If you’ve been bumped from a Southwest flight, see if you’re owed compensation by entering your flight information into our compensation calculatorYou’ll see how much you’re owed instantly!Free Compensation Calculator

Southwest Missed Connections

If you have connections as part of your Southwest itinerary, you always face the possibility of missing your flight - particularly if the first leg was disrupted in some way. The good news though, is that if this happens, you can expect the airline to help you get to your final destination. Find a Southwest agent and ask them to put you on the next available flight.

Compensation in 2025?

Currently the U.S. DOT is collecting public comment on a rulemaking that would, if enacted, require airlines to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations. The new rules would be similar to European and Canadian regulations that provide cash compensation based on the duration of the delay and the distance of the flight. 

Once the Department collects comments in February 2025, the rules will be reviewed and compensation amounts would be determined. Hopefully, the new administration will allow these requirements to become law, but until then, we’ll just have to wait and see.

AirAdvisor Can Help with Your Southwest Claim

If you’re owed a refund or compensation for being bumped from an overbooked Southwest flight, you should get your payment automatically. Still, sometimes this doesn’t go as planned and passengers are left wondering how to get their money back. That’s where we come into the picture!

  • We operate on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning we only get paid if you get paid.
  • More than 400,000 passengers have turned to AirAdvisor to get them the compensation they deserve
  • We have an outstanding 98% win rate as well as 7 years of experience protecting air passengers’ rights.

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