Southwest Temporarily Grounds 115 Planes

Southwest Airlines temporarily grounded 115 Boeing 737-800 on July 16 because of inconsistencies in aircraft weight data.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we temporarily ceased flying the respective aircraft to enter the correct weights of the aircraft in question into the system and reset the program,” said Chris Mainz, Southwest on July 16. “As of Thursday morning, we are making steady progress resolving the discrepancy tail by tail, and we have returned roughly half of the aircraft and counting back into service.”

By the afternoon of Thursday, July 17, the carrier said that approximately 50 percent of aircraft have been put back into service, according to Reuters.

Southwest said the discrepancy in weight was 75 pounds.

In January, the FAA proposed the carrier with $3.92 million fine after concluding that Southwest operated 44 planes that flew more than 21,000 flights between May 1 and Aug. 9, 2018, with incorrect baseline weights, according to USA Today.

` Starting weights are important so that airlines can determine everything from how much fuel to load the plane with and how luggage and cargo are placed.