08:37 AM EDT, 05/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with a statement from American Alliance for Equal Rights in the third paragraph.)

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) is being sued by a group for a program that awards free round-trip tickets to Hispanic university students, news outlets reported Tuesday.

American Alliance for Equal Rights, which opposes affirmative action, said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Texas that Southwest's ( LUV ) two-decade Lanzate Travel Award Program violated civil rights laws by excluding non-Hispanic students from applying.

"Programs like this one that exclude participants because of their race or ethnicity are unfair, unpopular, and illegal," Edward Blum of the American Alliance for Equal Rights said in a statement. "Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) should immediately open this program to all students, regardless of their skin color or ethnic heritage."

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.