Airline provides a critical lifeline to
patients seeking medical care by donating 13,000 tickets for round
trip air travel
DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is
celebrating 17 years of partnering with nonprofit hospitals and
medical transportation organizations to provide round trip air
travel for patients and caregivers who are unable to access care in
moments when they need it most. The Southwest Airlines®
Medical Transportation Grant Program aims to ease the financial
burden on patients and their families by helping to make healthcare
needs accessible and connecting patients to the life-saving care
they need with free transportation to medical facilities
nationwide.
Since the program's inception, Southwest® has donated
more than $56.6 million in air
transportation for thousands of patients and caregivers traveling
for life-changing medical care. In 2024, Southwest supported 79
organizations across 26 states and 40 cities by providing round
trip air travel, amounting to 13,000 Southwest tickets.
"We've seen that patients often aren't near a hospital or can't
afford air travel to a medical facility that provides the care they
need," said Laura Nieto, Managing
Director Corporate Responsibility at Southwest Airlines. "Travel is
often an important part of critical care needs, and it's an honor
to use our unique role as an airline to get patients closer to
life-saving care."
Visit the Medical Transportation Program page for a
complete list of partners and to learn more about the program or
watch a program highlight video on our YouTube channel.
About Southwest Airlines Co.
Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most
admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and
Hospitality at 117 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took
flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable,
and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying
nonstop within the United States
than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first
corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of
no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering
its more than 73,0002 People to deliver
unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a
passionate loyalty among more than 137 million Customers carried in
2023. That formula for success has brought industry-leading
prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of
profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV).
Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve
communities around the world including harnessing the power of its
People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success.
Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. As the
airline with Heart, Southwest has set a goal to work toward
achieving net zero carbon emissions by 20504.
Southwest has also set near-term targets and a three-pillar
strategy to achieve its environmental goals. Learn more by visiting
Southwest.com/planet.
1 Based on U.S. Dept. of Transportation
quarterly Airline Origin & Destination Survey since Q1
2021
2 Fulltime-equivalent active
Employees
3 1973-2019 annual
profitability
4 Southwest's net zero by 2050 goal
includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Category 3
emissions only and excludes any emissions associated with
non-fuel products and services, such as inflight service
items.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.