(Bloomberg) -- The US Federal Aviation Administration has concluded an enhanced review of Southwest Airlines Co. after finding no “significant safety issues,” the agency said in a statement.
The aviation safety regulator in July launched the audit after a series of flight mishaps at the carrier, including a plane that plunged to within 400 feet of the ocean off the coast of Hawaii and another in which an aircraft took off from a closed runway.
Following the incidents, Southwest required all of its pilots to undergo additional training at its Dallas headquarters.
“Southwest Airlines appreciates the opportunity to engage with the FAA as part of our mutual dedication to safety,” the carrier said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees.”
The FAA also recently closed a separate review of United Airlines Holdings Inc., after finding no significant safety issues with that carrier.
Both examinations underscored the FAA’s heightened scrutiny of US airlines after an uptick in serious runway incursions in 2023 and a near-catastrophe in January where a door-sized panel blew off a Boeing Co. plane shortly after takeoff.
(Adds Southwest Air comment in fourth paragraph.)
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