Independent site. It has no affiliation with Southwest Airlines and does not speak for it. Bookings, flight status and contact are on the airline's own site.
If Southwest cancels your flight, you're owed a refund. Hotels and meals depend on the cause
If Southwest cancels your flight you can take the rebooking or a full refund, and what it pays beyond that depends on whether the airline or something outside it caused the problem. Southwest names Air Traffic Control in both documents, so the 13 November stop sits outside its hotel and meal promises.
This page sets out Southwest's written commitments with clause references, its waiver for the 13 November 2026 FAA ground stop as it changed, how many flights it cancelled, and how to ask for a refund, expenses and a delay letter.
Southwest owes you a full refund when it cancels and you don't fly
US law gives every passenger on a flight to, from or within the United States a full refund of the fare, taxes and extra fees when the airline cancels, and you don't travel or accept a credit. The rule has no exception for the cause, so an FAA ground stop doesn't remove it. 1
The same applies to a significant delay or change: arriving 3 hours or more late on a domestic itinerary or 6 hours or more on an international one, a different airport, more connections or a downgrade (14 CFR 260.2).
The airline must pay within 7 business days for a credit card purchase and within 20 calendar days for cash, cheque or debit card, back to your original form of payment. A voucher counts only if you agree to it, and must last at least 5 years (14 CFR 260.6 and 260.7).
If you accept the rebooking and fly, the refund right for that fare ends. DOT isn't enforcing the rule where a flight was only renumbered and ran without a significant delay, until 7 July 2027. 2
US law sets no cash compensation for a delay or cancellation and requires no hotels or meals. Those come only from Southwest's own commitments, below.
Southwest pays for hotels and meals only when it caused the problem
When Southwest caused it (crew, mechanical, its own systems)
For delays of 3 hours or more, or cancellations, within Southwest's control (it gives mechanical problems and aircraft swaps as examples), its Customer Service Plan offers a meal voucher or reasonable meal costs, a hotel or reasonable hotel costs for an unplanned overnight stay, and transport where there's no shuttle.
A LUV Voucher of at least US$75 may also apply when you arrive 3 or more hours late. The plan says it isn't a contract; the contract itself promises no hotel or meals and makes a refund the exclusive remedy.
“within our control (e.g., mechanical problems, aircraft swap)”
Customer Service Plan (Rev 26-02, effective 16 October 2026), section 14; Contract of Carriage, section 9.b.(2) 6
When something outside Southwest caused it (weather, air traffic control, government orders)
For causes outside its control the plan lists weather, Air Traffic Control, safety and security events, FAA crew duty limits and infrastructure problems. Southwest then promises only rebooking on its next available flight at no extra cost.
The contract's Force Majeure Event definition names government action and Air Traffic Control. The refund right for a cancelled or significantly delayed flight still applies.
“not within our control (e.g., weather, Air Traffic Control”
Customer Service Plan, section 14 (final paragraph); Contract of Carriage (59th revised, effective 6 November 2026), section 1.b and section 9.b 6
Southwest names Air Traffic Control in both documents, so the 13 November stop sits outside its hotel and meal promises.
Check what Southwest owes you for your own flight
Pick what happened. The answer combines the US refund rule with Southwest's written commitments as read on 15 November 2026.
Southwest posted one waiver covering four travel days
A travel waiver lets you change or cancel a ticket for set dates without the usual fees. This log records each version of Southwest's waiver for the 13 November 2026 FAA ground stop, stamped with the date it was read, so it reads as history. It doesn't promise hotels or meals, and none of these versions mentioned them.
| Read on | Version | Terms | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Nov 2026 | southwest.com travel advisory as read | Reservations for 13 to 16 November. Rebook or fly standby between the same cities within 5 days of the original travel date with no fare difference. Unused ticket and optional extras refunded if the flight is cancelled or significantly delayed and you cancel. | Checked at source | 7 7 7 7 |
Summary for 13 November as held in the site data: waiver Yes; travel 13 to 16 Nov; rebook Within 5 days of the original travel date; fare difference Waived; refund Yes; hotels and meals Not mentioned. Compare every airline at the airline responses table.
Southwest cancelled 540 flights on Saturday by mid-afternoon
Counts from 13 and 14 November 2026 are snapshots by different trackers at different times, so they rise through the day. Each row shows when it was taken.
| Date | Measure | Figure | Status | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Nov 2026 | Southwest: cancellations per Flightradar24 | Nearly 1,400 | Not confirmed | 5 |
| 14 Nov 2026 | Southwest: Saturday cancellations, morning | 304 | Checked at source | 4 |
| 14 Nov 2026 | Southwest: Saturday cancellations at 2:48pm ET | 540 | Checked at source | 3 |
Saturday cancellations by 2:48pm ET
JetBlue lost the largest share of Saturday's schedule
The full national picture is on the flights section and the ground stop page.
How to ask Southwest for a refund, expenses and a written delay confirmation
A refund
- Cancel on Southwest.com or in the app at least 10 minutes before the original departure and choose the refund option. If you missed that, use the online refund request form.
- It asks for your confirmation number, flight details and contact details. Refund requests must be made within one year of the ticket's issue (Contract of Carriage section 4.c.(3)).
Expenses
- Reimbursement requests for costs from a delayed or cancelled flight go through Southwest's help centre. They cover events within its control only, up to one year after the flight.
For an air traffic control stop, Southwest's written terms don't cover these. Ask anyway if you want a written refusal for a card or insurance claim.
A written delay or cancellation confirmation
- Southwest publishes no page for a delay or cancellation letter. Customers on Southwest's own community forum say they got one by writing to Customer Relations through Contact us. No turnaround is stated.
Card benefits and travel insurers usually want written proof of the delay and its cause. The FAA ground stop itself is on the public record on the timeline.
Have these ready:
- confirmation number (the refund form does not ask for a ticket number)
- flight date, flight number, airport, origin and destination
- name, email, phone and postal address
- supporting documents or receipts for reimbursement (the help page asks for 'reasonable' requests and does not list receipt rules)
Deadlines as read: Where a refund must be requested, the request must be made no later than one year from the date the ticket was issued (Contract of Carriage section 4.c.(3)). Reimbursement and LUV Voucher requests: no later than one year after the flight. Written complaints are acknowledged within 30 days and answered within 60 days.
These steps link only to Southwest's own pages. The claim tool drafts the letters for you to send yourself.
Card and travel cover may pay the hotel Southwest won't
When Southwest puts the cause outside its control, the hotel, meals and missed bookings fall to you. A card trip delay benefit or a travel policy bought before the event is the next place to look, and the wording on cause and waiting period decides it.
Most US card benefits start at 6 hours or an overnight stay, and some list only the carrier's own equipment failure. The 13 November stop ran 4 hours 21 minutes.
| Card or policy | Benefit | For an air traffic control stop | What the wording says | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Reserve card | Trip delay | Depends | Cover starts after 6 hours or an overnight stay. Card wording does not mention ATC ground stops and experts disagree on whether an FAA failure is equipment failure. | 4 |
| Chase Sapphire Preferred card | Trip delay | Does not pay | A claim for a hotel after an air traffic control ground delay was denied. Listed hazards are equipment failure, weather, strikes and hijacking. | 9 |
| Capital One Venture X card | Trip delay | Depends | Cover starts after 6 hours. Card wording does not mention ATC ground stops. | 9 |
| American Express Platinum-tier Trip Delay Insurance | Trip delay | Does not pay | Up to US$500 a trip after more than 6 hours. The listed cause is carrier equipment failure, and Amex refused FAA-order delays in 2025. | 10 |
| American Express Embedded card benefits | Trip delay and cancellation | Does not pay | Amex said in November 2025 its card benefits would not cover cancellations or delays caused by the FAA's emergency order. Standalone policies might. | 9 |
| Citi Strata Elite and Strata Premier cards | Trip delay | Depends | Up to US$500 after more than 6 hours. Card wording not read. | 11 |
| AIG Travel Guard Preferred | Travel delay | Depends | Pays up to US$200 a day after a delay of more than 5 hours for a covered reason. The page read does not list the reasons. | 12 |
| Allianz OneTrip and AllTrips plans | Travel delay | Depends | Lists a travel carrier delay as a covered reason after 3 to 6 hours. Does not name air traffic control or the FAA. | 13 |
| Generali Global Assistance Standard, Preferred and Premium | Travel delay | Depends | Lists a common carrier delay as a covered reason after 10, 8 or 6 hours by plan. Up to US$1,000 per person. | 14 |
| Any insurer Policy bought after 13 Nov 2026 | All benefits | Does not pay | A policy bought after the event will not cover it or its knock-on disruption. | 15 |
Card by card detail is on the credit card trip delay insurance page, and 126 positions across 17 markets are in the insurance table. To start a claim, use the claim tool. This is general information about published wordings; it doesn't recommend any card or policy.
If Southwest refuses, complain in writing first, then to the US Department of Transportation
- Write to Southwest through its own contact or complaint page and keep a copy. US rules require the airline to acknowledge a written complaint within 30 days and send a substantive reply within 60 days (14 CFR 259.7). 18
- If the refund is refused or late, file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. It forwards complaints to the airline and uses them in enforcement. DOT complaint form 17 · DOT air travel complaints page 16
- For a card purchase, the card issuer's dispute process is another route when a refund owed under the rule doesn't arrive.
Southwest's phone lines, chat and rebooking pages, from its own site
Every number and channel below was read on Southwest's own pages on 15 November 2026. Fake airline support numbers circulate in search results, so call only numbers that match the airline's site. When phone queues run long, try the app, chat or text channel at the same time.
Call (US)
- General questions: 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) 19
- Automated flight information: 1-888-SWA-TRIP (1-888-792-8747) 19
- Rapid Rewards: 1-800-445-5764 19
- TTY: 1-800-533-1305 19
Chat and text
- No chat or text channel is listed on the airline's site.
Social accounts
Rebook, refund and alerts
More of Southwest's own pages
- Flight statusFlight status on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
- ContactContact us on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
- Travel alertsTravel advisories on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
- Refund requestRefund page on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
- Contract of carriageContract of carriage on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
- Customer service planCustomer service plan or commitment on the airline's siteChecked at source, checked 15 November 2026
Questions people ask about Southwest cancellations
What happens if my Southwest flight is cancelled?
Southwest rebooks you on another flight or you can take a full refund of the fare, taxes and fees. Meals and a hotel come only when Southwest caused the cancellation.
Will Southwest refund my money if my flight is cancelled?
Yes, if you don't travel and don't accept a credit. US law (14 CFR Part 260) requires it whatever the cause, within 7 business days for a credit card and 20 calendar days for other payments.
Does Southwest compensate for cancelled flights?
US law sets no cash compensation for cancellations. Southwest offers a meal voucher or meal costs, a hotel or hotel costs and transport, and possibly a LUV Voucher of at least US$75. That applies only when Southwest caused the problem.
Does Southwest pay for a hotel when the FAA stops flights?
Southwest names Air Traffic Control in both documents, so the 13 November stop sits outside its hotel and meal promises.
What is a Southwest travel waiver?
A notice that lets you change or cancel tickets for set dates without the usual fees. For the 13 November 2026 ground stop it covered travel 13 to 16 Nov, with the fare difference waived.
Does Southwest give a LUV Voucher for a cancelled flight?
Its Customer Service Plan offers a LUV Voucher of at least US$75 when a disruption within its control makes you arrive 3 or more hours late. Air Traffic Control events are outside that promise.
The same guide for other US airlines
American Airlines · Delta Air Lines · United Airlines · JetBlue · Alaska Airlines · all six compared
Sources
23 sources
- 14 CFR Part 260, eCFR (version 1 November 2026) Checked at source
- DOT enforcement notice, 7 July 2026 (renumbered flights) Checked at source
- FlightAware via Yahoo News live blog Checked at source · methodology reference 349
- Upgraded Points Checked at source · methodology reference 7
- Flightradar24 blog Not confirmed · methodology reference 350
- Southwest: written terms for causes within its control Checked at source
- Southwest travel advisory Checked at source · methodology reference 55
- FlightAware via Yahoo News live blog Checked at source · methodology reference 14
- Thrifty Traveler Checked at source · methodology reference 205
- American Express benefits guide Checked at source · methodology reference 136
- Your Mileage May Vary Reported elsewhere · methodology reference 218
- Travel Guard Checked at source · methodology reference 133
- Allianz Travel Insurance (US) Checked at source · methodology reference 115
- Generali Checked at source · methodology reference 213
- Upgraded Points Checked at source · methodology reference 206
- US DOT, Air Travel Complaints page (address from search listing) Reported elsewhere
- US DOT, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection complaint form Checked at source
- 14 CFR Part 259 (complaint responses, 259.7) Checked at source
- Southwest Airlines phone numbers Checked at source
- Southwest Airlines X account Reported elsewhere
- Southwest Airlines Facebook account Checked at source
- Southwest Airlines change or rebook a trip page Checked at source
- Southwest Airlines request a refund page Checked at source