How Southwest Flight Delay Compensation Works

These days, it’s common to see posts about flight delays on social media or in the news. And if you fly often, it’s only a matter of time until you’re one of the unlucky ones trying to figure out how to handle a delayed flight.

Whether it's due to inclement weather, staff shortages or mechanical problems, are you entitled to compensation from Southwest for other delays?

Here's how Southwest handles delays and how to get refunded or receive additional compensation for a delayed flight on Southwest.

If your flight is delayed by 30 minutes or more, you’ll be notified by email, phone or text within half an hour of Southwest being aware of the delay. For cancellations and delays that are within Southwest’s control, the carrier commits to rebooking its passengers on the same airline at no extra cost.

If your flight happens to be delayed on the tarmac because of gate-space limitations, mechanical problems or air traffic control requirements, Southwest will provide snacks and drinking water for delays nearing two hours. You’ll also have access to restrooms.

As of October 2024, U.S. airline carriers are required to issue automatic cash refunds to passengers for canceled flights or substantial itinerary changes. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has defined a “significant change” as:

• Departure or arrival time change greater than 3 hours on domestic flights.

• Departure or arrival time change greater than 6 hours on international flights.

• Departure or arrival from a different airport.

• Increased flight connections.

• Downgraded seat class.

• Connection or plane changes that aren’t adequately accessible for persons with a disability.

The automatic cash refund rule also applies to the Southwest checked baggage fee if your baggage is significantly delayed (more than 12 hours after arrival for domestic flights and 15-30 hours for international flights).

Additionally, passengers are entitled to a cash refund if they don’t receive the extra services they paid for, like WiFi access or a pre-selected, upgraded seat.

Refund compensation timeline

If your flight delay meets the criteria for an automatic cash refund, Southwest must refund you within seven business days if you paid with a credit card. The refund timeline for other payment methods is 20 calendar days.

Refund amount

If your Southwest flight was significantly delayed, you have the right to receive a full refund for the flight purchase amount — including fees — but minus any portion of the ticket that you already used. For example, if you successfully flew on your first connection, but the second connection was substantially delayed, you should receive a refund for the second connection only.

Form of payment

Southwest is required to refund passengers via cash or the payment method used to purchase the ticket. It’s not allowed to issue vouchers or travel credits in lieu of a cash refund, unless passengers intentionally select the non-cash compensation.

If for any reason you don't receive the delay compensation you’re entitled to, contact the airline by phone or email.

Southwest has also certain commitments to offer other types of compensation to passengers for controllable delays.

For example, passengers who experience a delay of 3 hours or more can receive a meal, meal cash or voucher for food. If you miss a connection because of a plane swap and must stay overnight, you can request a hotel voucher and complimentary ground transportation to and from your accommodation.

Many travel rewards cards come with trip protections for cardholders. If you pay for all or a portion of your delayed Southwest flight with a travel card that offers trip delay insurance, you can claim reimbursement on some of your expenses.

Trip delay insurance typically covers meals, lodging and transportation costs incurred due to a delayed flight, so make sure to save your receipts to submit a claim later.

Note that all of these cards offer supplemental coverage. So if Southwest covered your expenses or you had purchased a separate trip insurance policy, you can claim only what hasn’t already been reimbursed.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

If you need more trip delay coverage than what’s provided by your credit card, you can also look into purchasing a travel insurance policy. More often than not, a comprehensive plan will offer higher coverage limits than travel credit cards.

We recommend Squaremouth, a travel insurance marketplace, to search for plans and compare policy quotes. More than a dozen travel insurance providers are listed on Squaremouth, and you can filter results by the coverage features you need most.