Airports brace for holiday rush with enhanced travel protections post-Southwest meltdown

ARLINGTON, Va. - The holiday rush has begun at Reagan National Airport and airline customers can expect new travel protections after the Southwest Airlines meltdown last year. 

7.5 million people are expected to fly for the holiday season and, if you remember, this time in 2023 —  it was pure chaos due to the Southwest disaster.

But since then, there’s been big improvements to transparency and making holiday travel more efficient.

The ghost of Christmas past is top of mind for travelers this year as we approach the one-year mark of Southwest’s ten-day holiday meltdown.

"I was actually impacted last year," said traveler Ashton Fraser. "I was going to Breckenridge and my flight did get canceled, so I was a little skeptical about booking Southwest."

"They said go home, we went home, rebooked, went back, canceled again. Went home, rebooked, and canceled one more time," recalled Angela Warfield. "I called mom and dad. I said ‘We’re not coming this year, but we’ll Zoom you."

"I had to end up renting a car and driving home 12 hours," added Shelli Ratermann.

"Last year seemed to just be a total implosion," said Fred Keeton.

These folks are just some of the nearly two million passengers stranded across the country with Southwest canceling around 17,000 flights.

In response, the airline was hit with a record 140 million dollar fine and is now required to give travelers a $75 airline credit for delays that are longer than three hours.

But several other airlines are also required to reimburse you and travel experts say you should know your rights.

"When your flight is canceled, you have the right to be compensated and to actually be reimbursed for the full cost of that flight," said travel journalist Troy Petenbrink. "You do not have to accept a travel voucher, which is oftentimes one of the things the airlines will try to give you. You can actually ask for your full refund."

According to a new federal dashboard from the Department of Transportation, every major airline will rebook you for controllable delays or cancellations. 

So what does that mean and what exactly does it cover?

"Controllable means that it's the airline's fault," said Petenbrink. "Essentially, they had control over that delay. They were either short on their staffing or they had a mechanical issue. You're going to see consistency in being compensated for things like meals, hotel stays, those sorts of things."

But when it comes to weather, "That's on the customer," Petenbrink. said. "That's where things like travel insurance and planning really fall on to the customer and, you know, signing up for those travel alerts." 

FOX 5 meteorologist Mike Thomas says the D.C. region won't see any weather issues ahead of Christmas.

But a storm hitting California in the coming days could impact travel in L.A. and San Francisco, and those traveling to the Rockies and Central Plains may have to watch for snow.

But overall, he says you can expect a quiet holiday travel season! 

If you want to take a closer look at that dashboard to see airline policies, click here: