Southwest Airlines A-List and A-List Preferred customers who were denied priority boarding last week due to a computer problem will be compensated with frequent flyer miles, the airline has announced.

USA Today reports that customers who didn’t get their automatic A group priority boarding position will get 1,500 Rapid Rewards points for every flight segment affected.

The glitch affected travellers on Southwest flights between August 11 and August 15.

Many preferred customers received boarding passes assigning them to the B or C group, prompting a variety of complaints by Southwest’s most loyal customers, some of whom said the airline should have notified travellers by email in advance of their flights so that customer-service representatives could upgrade their boarding position manually.

“This has resulted in boarding positions that are less typical than what our A-List and A-List Preferred Rapid Rewards customers have come to expect,” acknowledged Southwest spokesperson Michelle Agnew.

The airline continues to work on fixing the technology issue, company officials said. Customers who paid Southwest’s $15 fee for “Early Bird” check-in were not affected.

southwest.com