March 1, 2012 

VIA ELECTRONIC FI~ING 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: Docket No. OST-96-1960; 

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 

Laurie Barnett 

Director 

Corporate Outreach and Preparedness 

Love Field 

P.O. Box 36611 

0 

Submission of Updated Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan 

To Whom It May Concern: 

Pursuant to the requirements outlined in 49 USC § 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 (replaced with this version) accordingly. 

The purpose of this update Is to inform you that effective March 1, 2012, 

Southwest Airlines Co. will assume full responsibility for emergency response efforts for 

accidents involving an AirTran Airways aircraft. On March 1, 2012, we anticipate 

obtaining our single operating certificate, which is yet another step toward fully 

integrating AirTran (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southwest) into Southwest Airlines. 

The attached updated Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan reflects that change. 

Sincerely, · 

x~~ Laurie Barnett 

Attachment: Southwest Airlines Family Assistance Plan March 2012 

Copy to: National Transportation Safety Board - c/o Erik Grosof 
Southwest Airlines Co. Family Assistance Plan 

March 2012 

PREFACE 

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 

FAMILY ASSISTANCE PLAN 

The Southwest Airlihes 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, or an AirTran 

Airways accident effective March 1, 2012. 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 

Reservations Center Team for the purpose of gathering contact information. 

Reservation 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 T earn (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 liaison 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. 

28.1n 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. 

29.1n 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. 

30.1n 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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