Southwesf

Karie Lardon

Sr. Manager - Emergency Response

Southwest Airlines Co.

P.O. Box 36611

Dallas, Texas 75235-1611

December 23,2014

VIA ELECTRONIC FILING

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Docket No. OST-96-1960;

Submission of Updated Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the requirements outlined in 49 USC S 41113, Southwest Airlines

Co. ("Southwest") has updated its Family Assistance Plan and is filing it in the above

referenced docket today. This plan supersedes all other Southwest Airlines Family

Assistance Plans and AirTran Airways Family Assistance Plans filed in this docket and

we ask that they be disregarded and replaced with this version.

The purpose of this update is to inform you that effective December 28, 2014,

Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways are fully integrated and are no longer using

the AirTran brand. Thus, all references to AirTran Airways will be removed from the

Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan. The attached updated Southwest Airlines

Family Assistance Plan reflects this change.

Please note that the emergency contact number (operational 24/7) for

Southwest emergencies has changed to (Southwest Airlines Network

Operations Control, formerly, Operations Coordination Center). Should you have any

questions regarding the Southwest Family Assistance Plan, please contact me directly

Connecting people to what's important in their lives.
Southwest".

at

Sincerely,

/ Karie Lardon /

Karie Lardon

Attachment: Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan (December 2014)

Copy to: National Transportation Safety Board - c/o Mike Crook

Connecting people to what's Important in their lives.
Southwest Airlines Co. Family Assistance Plan

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

FAMILY ASSISTANCE PLAN

December 2014

PREFACE

The Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan is submitted in accordance with the

Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 (49 U.S.C. 1136 and 41113), and

reflects the Amendments to the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act dated April 5,

2000, to Title IV, section 402 of AIR-21, and the Vision 100-Century of Aviation

Reauthorization Act. This plan is a subset of the Southwest Airlines Co. (Southwest

Airlines, or Southwest) Corporate Emergency Response Plan and Station Emergency

Program. This plan will be utilized to respond to a Southwest Airlines accident effective

December 28, 2014. Southwest has developed carefully coordinated procedures to

provide assistance to, and address the needs of crash survivors and families of

passengers involved in such an accident. Southwest is committed to ensuring that both

surviving passengers and their family members receive the appropriate level of

information and services to meet their immediate needs; treating survivors and families

with compassion and dignity; respecting the cultural and religious backgrounds; and,

ensuring that revenue and nonrevenue survivors and families receive the same level of

service.

ASSURANCES

Southwest's plan to assist those affected by an aviation disaster is part of a larger

organized effort, which includes the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and

many other government agencies to provide the highest level of support possible to

survivors and family members. Following a significant event which evokes the Family

Assistance Act, Southwest Airlines commits to the following assurances:

1. Southwest will provide notification to the NTSB communications center and provide

requested information.

2. Southwest will work with the media to publicize a reliable, toll-free telephone

number, and will provide staff to receive calls from, and provide assistance to the

families of the passengers. These calls will be routed to our Southwest Airlines

Customer Support & Services Center Team (formerly known as the Southwest

Airlines Reservations Center Team) for the purpose of gathering contact information.

Customer Support & Services Center Employees designated to handle these calls

have received procedural and situational training to respond to accident related

calls. Appropriate scripts/messages have been created to expedite this process.

3. Southwest Airlines has developed a process to provide timely notification to the

family of a passenger as soon as Southwest has verified that the passenger was

aboard the aircraft (whether or not the names of all the passengers have been

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verified). Notification will be made by Southwest Airlines Employees who are suitably

trained to handle the sensitive nature of this notification.

Upon request of the family of a passenger, Southwest will inform the family of

whether the passenger's name appeared on a preliminary passenger manifest

(referred to as the reservations list) for the flight involved in the accident, whether the

name of that person has been verified as boarded or not.

4. Southwest Airlines will provide to the NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster

Assistance designated for the accident under 49 U.S.C. Section 1136(a)(1) and to

the organization designated for the accident under 49 U.S.C. Section 1136(a)(2),

immediately upon request, a name list (which is based on the best available

information at the time of the request) of the passengers aboard the aircraft (whether

or not such names have been verified), and will periodically update the list. Updated

lists (known as the manifest list) will be provided in a timely manner with numbered

or annotated copies to be distinguished from previous versions.

5. Southwest will provide updated information and secure facilities at airports where

families may gather. Family members may receive personal notification that their

loved one was on the plane while in a secure facility.

6. Southwest will provide logistical support to family members who desire to travel to

the accident city. Southwest will establish a suitable facility FAC (Family Assistance

Center) near the accident site to meet family member informational needs. The site

should accommodate the JFSOC function.

7. Southwest will make provisions for a Joint Family Support Operations Center

(JFSOC), to include space, communication and logistical support.

8. At an appropriate time, and at the direction of the Deputy Director, FA, NTSB,

Southwest will inform families of the need to contact their family dentist to request

dental records and x-rays of their loved one. Records will be sent to the JFSOC

hotel, attention Deputy Director, FA, NTSB. Southwest will coordinate with the

Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) to ensure families are

aware of the purpose of these records and are receiving appropriate assistance.

9. Southwest will make appropriate provisions for the DMORT and medical examiner,

and Southwest will coordinate with these organizations to ensure appropriate

handling of all remains.

10.Southwest will provide the Department of State (DOS) information on foreign

passengers.

11.Southwest will coordinate with the American Red Cross (ARC) which includes

offering their assistance after providing notification and ongoing communication to

meet family member needs.

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12.Southwest will deliver status updates regarding family notification to the media and

public in a timely manner. However, Southwest will not release the names of the

passengers to the media or public.

13.Southwest will ensure traveling family members receive assistance while in airports

and will inform Flight Crew and Airport Personnel of their travel. A Southwest

Airlines contact person will be available to families at all times.

14.Southwest will provide a point of contact to provide assistance to a family at the

accident. This responsibility will lie with our trained Southwest Airlines Care Team

Members. Once families cease interacting with their Care Team Member, they will

be provided a single point of contact at Southwest for all ongoing needs.

15.Care Team Members may also provide assistance to families who elect to not travel

to the accident site.

16.Southwest will establish a badging system to identify family members.

17.Southwest will liaise with the American Red Cross (ARC) at each supporting medical

treatment facility to track victim status and provide assistance to families.

18.Southwest Airlines has contracted with an experienced third party for the handling

and processing of personal effects (under the consultation of Southwest). If

requested by the family of a passenger, Southwest Airlines will return any

possession of the passenger, within the control of Southwest, to the family

(regardless of its condition) unless the possession is needed for the accident

investigation or any criminal investigation. Southwest Airlines will retain any

unclaimed possession of a passenger, within the control of Southwest, for at least 18

months from the date of the accident.

19.A Southwest JFSOC representative, with appropriate authority, will be designated to

support family assistance efforts in conjunction with the Deputy Director of FA,

NTSB. This includes participating in daily coordination meetings.

20. Southwest will consult with the family of each passenger about construction of any

monument to the passengers, including any inscription on the monument.

21.Southwest will provide reasonable reimbursement to the ARC for services rendered.

22. Southwest will coordinate with the Department of Justice (DOJ), or FBI OVA, for

communicating family rights under the victims of crime legislation, if the crash is

declared a crime.

23.The treatment of families of nonrevenue passengers (and any other victim of the

accident) will be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue passengers.

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24. Southwest designated Leader(s) will participate in daily coordination meetings and

provide updated information as required.

25.Southwest Airlines will work with any organization designated under 49 U.S.C.

Section 1136(a)(2) (including but not limited to DOJ, DOS, and NTSB) on an

ongoing basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an appropriate level of

service and assistance following an accident.

26.Southwest Airlines will commit sufficient resources to carry out our Family

Assistance Plan.

27.Southwest Airlines will provide adequate training to the employees and agents of

Southwest to meet the needs of survivors and family members following an accident.

28.ln the event that Southwest Airlines volunteers assistance to United States citizens

within the United States with respect to an aircraft accident outside the United States

involving major loss of life, Southwest will consult with the National Transportation

Safety Board and the Department of State on the provision of the assistance.

29.ln the event that Southwest Airlines is involved in an accident that results in

significant damage to a manmade structure or other property on the ground that is

not government-owned, Southwest will promptly provide notice, in writing (to the

extent practicable), directly to the owner of the structure or other property about

liability for any property damage and means for obtaining compensation. The written

notice shall advise an owner to: (a) contact the insurer of the property as the

authoritative source for information about coverage and compensation; (b) to not rely

on unofficial information offered by air carrier representatives about compensation

by the air carrier for accident site property damage; and (c) to obtain photographic or

other detailed evidence of property damage as soon as possible after the accident,

consistent with restrictions on access to the accident site.

30. In the event that an accident involving Southwest Airlines requires an NTSB public

hearing or comparable proceeding at a location greater that 80 miles from the

accident site, Southwest will ensure that proceedings will be available

simultaneously by electronic means at a location open to the public at both the origin

city and destination city of the Southwest flight, if that city is located in the United

States.

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