WASHINGTON—Federal lawmakers have signaled that they will investigate the mass flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines Co., with some Democrats suggesting the Transportation Department should be more aggressive at protecting passengers.

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who leads the Senate’s committee on transportation issues, said in a statement this week that its members will look into what caused the cancellations and how consumers were affected.

“The problems at Southwest Airlines over the last several days go beyond weather,” Ms. Cantwell said.

The airline canceled nearly two-thirds of its flights Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, part of an effort to dig out from a cascading meltdown after last week’s severe winter storm threw it into disarray. While other airlines were able to recover from the brutal weather within a few days, Southwest continued to spiral.

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