NEW YORK CITY - A two-decade-old program from Southwest Airlines that awards free round-trip flights to Hispanic college students is being challenged in a lawsuit by a prominent anti-affirmative action group, which alleges the program is racially discriminatory.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights in a federal court in Dallas. The group is led by Edward Blum, a prominent conservative litigant known for his anti-affirmative action cases. They argue that the airline's program violated civil rights laws by excluding non-Hispanic students from eligibility for free tickets.
