Southwest defies FAA deadline to pay $10.2 million fine
Southwest Airlines will not pay the $10.2 million fine levied by the Federal Aviation Administration for alleged safety violations — yet.
Even though Southwest notified the agency that it missed the deadline to complete inspections, the airline continued to fly planes that had yet to be inspected.
The FAA said that it will “turn the matter over to the Justice Department if the fine were not paid by August 29.”
A Southwest spokeswoman said the airline wants to have further discussions with the FAA.
This spring, the government said it would fine Southwest for safety violations that included knowingly flying more than three dozen jets without mandatory inspections for structural damage.
When asked whether it still would continue to turn the matter over to the Justice Department, an FAA spokesman said “I really can’t speculate on whether that’s the course of action we would take.” He added he can’t speculate because they are still in discussions with Southwest.
Southwest said that despite the alleged maintenance shortcomings, safety was never compromised. The FAA also said that “there were no safety incidents related to the missed inspections.”
Our colleague Timothy O’Neil-Dunne speculates the government may impound one of Southwest’s planes until it gets paid.
Now that would be interesting.
You may also be interested in these articles
Comments
Please share your thoughts...