To fix the airlines, the government must first do no harm

After a straight week of Southwest Airlines canceling a majority of its flights amid an internal crisis, Democrats have turned not just on the low-cost carrier, but on the industry as a whole. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has used the Southwest catastrophe to renew her calls for the Transportation Department to block the merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) has proposed that Congress fine airlines 10 times the original ticket price for flight cancellations they fail to refund promptly.