Southwest operationsOperations back to normal after cancellations

By the end of last week, Southwest Airlines said its flight schedules were again operating normally after it suddenly grounded 44 of its 737s – roughly eight percent of its fleet – on Wednesday (March 12) for safety-related inspections. That action followed a recent announcement by the FAA that it plans to fine the airline $10 million for not making required safety inspections. The FAA fine would be the largest ever levied against an airline. However, the FAA’s action was grounded in controversy following allegations by some FAA safety inspectors that the agency had failed to enforce the inspection requirement – looking for cracks in 737 fuselages – in a timely manner. The inspectors allege that Southwest got a pass because of a cozy relationship between the FAA official in charge of Southwest and the airline’s maintenance executives, one of whom formerly worked at the FAA. Southwest has suspended three maintenance employees after conducting an internal investigation of the flap.