May 20 (Reuters) - A group founded by a prominent

anti-affirmative action activist on Monday sued Southwest

Airlines ( LUV ), alleging that a two-decade-old program that

awards free round-trip flights to Hispanic undergraduate and

graduate students is racially discriminatory.

Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights in a

lawsuit filed in federal court in Dallas alleged that the

airline's program violated federal civil rights laws by

excluding non-Hispanic students from eligibility for free

tickets.

His group alleged that as a result, two Asian and white

students who were members of his nonprofit were barred from

applying to the program. The lawsuit seeks an injunction

blocking Southwest ( LUV ) from using its eligibility criteria.

"Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) should immediately open this program to

all students, regardless of their skin color or ethnic

heritage," Blum said in a statement.

Dallas-based Southwest ( LUV ) did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.

The lawsuit marked the latest in a series of cases Blum has

filed in recent months challenging corporate diversity programs

after another group he founded last year convinced the

conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court to bar the

consideration of race as a factor in college admissions.

Monday's lawsuit centers on Southwest's ( LUV ) ¡Lánzate! Travel

Award Program, which launched in 2004 and is operated in

partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and

Universities.

To be eligible for four round-trip tickets, an undergraduate

or graduate student must live at least 200 miles (322 km) from

their home and be Hispanic. Southwest ( LUV ) says the program has

helped more than 1,500 students.

The lawsuit alleged that the program violated Section 1981

of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a Civil War-era law that bars

racial bias in contracting.

It also claimed the program violated Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination in federally

funded programs or activities. Federal funding Southwest ( LUV )

received during the COVID-19 pandemic means the airline can be

sued under that statute, according to the complaint.