Southwest Airlines continues canceling flights as New Year holiday approaches
Travelers wait at a Southwest Airlines baggage counter to retrieve their bags after canceled flights at Los Angeles International Airport, Monday, December 26, 2022, in Los Angeles.
(CNN) — Air travelers in the US hoping for clear skies on Tuesday following a disastrous week of weather-related flight cancellations and delays will have to extend their patience a few more days -- particularly if they're flying with Southwest Airlines.
More than 2,892 flights within, into or out of the US have already been canceled for Tuesday as of 9 a.m. ET, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Of those canceled flights, 2,522 are operated by Southwest.
Airports most affected by the Tuesday cancellations are Denver International, followed by Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Dallas Love Field and Nashville International.
Tuesday's cancellations follow a full day of post-Christmas travel chaos, with 3,989 flights canceled on Monday -- 2,909 of those being Southwest flights. And Southwest's Christmas struggles come amid a year of troubles for the airline industry. Over the summer, nearly a quarter of US flights were delayed and thousands were canceled.
Southwest warns that this week's cancellations and delays are expected to continue for several more days, with representatives saying the Dallas-based airline is planning to dial back its flight schedule in order to get operations on track.
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan told the Wall Street Journal the company plans to operate just over a third of its schedule in upcoming days to give itself the ability for crews to get into the right positions.
According to WSJ.com, Jordan added that reduced schedule could be extended.
"We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we'll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this," Jordan said in an interview Monday evening with WSJ.com.
"This is the largest scale event that I've ever seen."
Southwest was hit particularly hard due to a cascade of issues. The storm hit two of its biggest hubs, Chicago and Denver at a time when Covid and other winter ailments were stretching staff rosters. Southwest's aggressive schedule and underinvestment have also been blamed.
The winter storm that swept across the US was ill-timed for travelers who had started pushing Christmas week flying numbers back toward pre-pandemic levels.
On Christmas Day, 3,178 flights were canceled and 6,870 were delayed, according to FlightAware.
On Christmas Eve, there were a total of 3,487 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.
Friday was the worst day of this streak with 5,934 cancellations, while Thursday saw almost 2,700 cancellations.
What can stranded passengers do?
At the Southwest ticket counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday morning, long lines were already building up as travelers waited to try to rebook flights or make connections.
And at Chicago's Midway International, huge buildups of unclaimed bags piled up as passengers struggled to reclaim their luggage.
Passenger Trisha Jones told CNN at the airport in Atlanta that she and her partner had been traveling for five days, trying to get home to Wichita, Kansas after disembarking from a cruise at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After her flight out was canceled, she stayed with relatives then rerouted to Atlanta to pick up a connecting flight.
"We were fortunate, because we were in Fort Lauderdale -- my family lives in the Tampa bay area so we were able to rent a car to go see my family for Christmas," Jones said. "We've seen a lot of families who are sleeping on the floor, and it just breaks my heart."
Calls made Monday afternoon by CNN to Southwest's customer service did not go through, so customers couldn't even get in the queue to speak to a representative. Southwest told CNN it is "fully staffed to answer calls."
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Southwest Airlines continues canceling flights as New Year holiday approaches | CNN Travel
(CNN) — Air travelers in the US hoping for clear skies on Tuesday following a disastrous week of weather-related flight cancellations and delays will have to extend their patience a few more days -- particularly if they're flying with Southwest Airlines.
More than 2,892 flights within, into or out of the US have already been canceled for Tuesday as of 9 a.m. ET, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Of those canceled flights, 2,522 are operated by Southwest.
Airports most affected by the Tuesday cancellations are Denver International, followed by Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Dallas Love Field and Nashville International.
Tuesday's cancellations follow a full day of post-Christmas travel chaos, with 3,989 flights canceled on Monday -- 2,909 of those being Southwest flights. And Southwest's Christmas struggles come amid a year of troubles for the airline industry. Over the summer, nearly a quarter of US flights were delayed and thousands were canceled.
Southwest warns that this week's cancellations and delays are expected to continue for several more days, with representatives saying the Dallas-based airline is planning to dial back its flight schedule in order to get operations on track.
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan told the Wall Street Journal the company plans to operate just over a third of its schedule in upcoming days to give itself the ability for crews to get into the right positions.
According to WSJ.com, Jordan added that reduced schedule could be extended.
"We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we'll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this," Jordan said in an interview Monday evening with WSJ.com.
"This is the largest scale event that I've ever seen."
Southwest was hit particularly hard due to a cascade of issues. The storm hit two of its biggest hubs, Chicago and Denver at a time when Covid and other winter ailments were stretching staff rosters. Southwest's aggressive schedule and underinvestment have also been blamed.
The winter storm that swept across the US was ill-timed for travelers who had started pushing Christmas week flying numbers back toward pre-pandemic levels.
On Christmas Day, 3,178 flights were canceled and 6,870 were delayed, according to FlightAware.
On Christmas Eve, there were a total of 3,487 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.
Friday was the worst day of this streak with 5,934 cancellations, while Thursday saw almost 2,700 cancellations.
What can stranded passengers do?
At the Southwest ticket counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Tuesday morning, long lines were already building up as travelers waited to try to rebook flights or make connections.
And at Chicago's Midway International, huge buildups of unclaimed bags piled up as passengers struggled to reclaim their luggage.
Passenger Trisha Jones told CNN at the airport in Atlanta that she and her partner had been traveling for five days, trying to get home to Wichita, Kansas after disembarking from a cruise at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After her flight out was canceled, she stayed with relatives then rerouted to Atlanta to pick up a connecting flight.
"We were fortunate, because we were in Fort Lauderdale -- my family lives in the Tampa bay area so we were able to rent a car to go see my family for Christmas," Jones said. "We've seen a lot of families who are sleeping on the floor, and it just breaks my heart."
Calls made Monday afternoon by CNN to Southwest's customer service did not go through, so customers couldn't even get in the queue to speak to a representative. Southwest told CNN it is "fully staffed to answer calls."
CONTINUED:
Southwest Airlines continues canceling flights as New Year holiday approaches | CNN Travel
I need to be somewhere NYE. My flight leaves 12/29. That gives me time to drive if flights can’t go. Miss me with the airport tears.
