Passengers aboard a Southwest Airline jet that took a dramatic plunge to avoid an oncoming aircraft were told by the pilot that they nearly struck another plane before landing safely in Las Vegas.

A Southwest Airlines flight departing from Burbank Airport experienced a sudden mid-air drop of nearly 500 feet on Friday afternoon,

The sudden maneuver was made during a Friday flight out of California after two collision safety alerts sounded in the cockpit, causing the pilots to take evasive action, the airline said.

Boeing, as per Reuters, has bled more than $30 billion since 2019 after two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 MAX jet triggered production quality and safety concerns. The pandemic further squeeze

Passengers at Tampa International Airport had to evacuate a Southwest Airlines jet after a possible lightning strike on Monday night, according to officials with the airline.

Southwest Airlines will switch to assigned seats on Jan. 27, 2026, the airline announced. Seat assignments will go on sale July 29, 2025.

The passenger jet was responding to an alert of another aircraft in the vicinity, federal authorities said. A Cold War-era military plane was nearby at the time.