Government to release report flagging safety culture at Southwest, WSJ reports

A government report flagging safety culture at Southwest Airlines is due to come out as soon as the end of the week, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The Office of the Inspector General highlighted several concerns about the safety culture of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) and the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of the airline in a draft of the report, the newspaper said.

Southwest has been the subject of multiple safety-related issues recently, including a proposed $3.9 million fine from the FAA over allegedly incorrect weight calculations, in addition to the carrier allegedly receiving special treatment in regard to approval to commence flights to Hawaii.

A Southwest spokesperson said the company has communicated its “disappointment” in the draft report to the inspector general and pushed back on some of the report’s contents.

“The success of our business depends, in and of itself, on the Safety of our operation, and while we work to improve each and every day, any implication that we would tolerate a relaxing of standards is unfounded,” the spokesperson said.

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The WSJ said that in the draft report nearly two-thirds of the 46 FAA employees interviewed raised concerns about the culture at Southwest. The report stated “it is clear that the Agency is not yet effectively navigating the balance between industry collaboration and managing safety risks at the carrier,” according to the report.