Southwest Airlines

led U.S. airline cancellations on Tuesday as the low-cost carrier struggled to recover from harsh winter weather that has wrecked holiday plans for many. Shares ...

Its troubles have invited scrutiny from the U.S. That leaves its staff vulnerable to being stranded in case of disruptions. Shares of the Dallas-based airline were down 5.3 per cent at $34.19 in morning trade, after it canceled 2,523 flights for Tuesday as of 9.42 am ET.

Southwest Airlines accounted for 86 percent of canceled domestic flights Tuesday, drawing the attention of U.S. regulators amid a days-long meltdown of ...

Airline executives had said they made reliability a priority and would be able to manage the busy holiday travel season. “I’m just grateful I got out of there because I’ve been hearing a lot of people are still stuck at the airports,” she said. That evening, a single employee was available at times to field customer concerns in the slow-moving line. Caroline Flynn, 24, was supposed to fly Friday from Norfolk, where she’s a student at Old Dominion University, to be with her family in Denver. She scrambled and found a United flight for the family, shelling out another $1,000 for tickets. The airline’s website and app — warning of extended wait times — also urged customers to speak with gate agents at airports, where they waited hours more. [Aerial winter storm photos](https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2022/photos-winter-storm/?itid=cb_box_374SMA44SFGGJDUSTXPIVAGEWY_10)show the impact of blizzard conditions. The storm hit Southwest hard in Denver and Chicago, where it has large operations, according to company spokesman Chris Perry. Friday to catch an early-morning flight to Fort Lauderdale with her three children when she got a notification they were rebooked on a 3:45 p.m. The agency will look into “whether cancellations were controllable,” it said in a Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a tweet that he is monitoring the situation. The carrier’s disruptions attracted scrutiny from the Transportation Department, which said it was looking into Southwest’s handling of cancellations.

Airline cancels more than two-thirds of scheduled flights over Christmas break amid a devastating winter storm.

As of 22:00 ET, Southwest has preemptively canceled 2,746 flights (68.7% of its schedule) tomorrow and 2,475 on Wednesday (61.9%). [December 27, 2022] [#SOUTHWEST]NIGHTMARE: All flights leaving San Diego tonight are canceled, announcement just now over the intercom says the airline is “frozen and not able to assist with rebooking.” People are told find their bags in these piles. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan,” the Transportation Department Several are in tears. At least 48 people have died as large parts of the US battle frigid conditions. [tweeted](https://twitter.com/USDOT/status/1607558478859759616).

Airlines cancel more than 2800 flights Tuesday morning, the majority of them with Southwest. At LAX, scores of flight cancellations and delays.

[flooding Southwest](https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir/status/1607408194820755457) with reports of the headaches they’ve encounter and continue to face. [they didn’t receive](https://twitter.com/t_addisonn/status/1607493150452633600) an email or text message about their flight’s status, and instead learned through a notice on the company’s app. Not working families or young people who get to go home once a year for holidays,” Horvath said in a tweet. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath was left stranded in Las Vegas after her flight on Southwest back to Los Angeles was canceled, [@SouthwestAir](https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir) my only chance at getting home is to spend $400+ one way on another airline & arrive [Tuesday] afternoon (& cancel vet appt & work mtgs). The cancellations even affected the Los Angeles political class. Schelter and her daughters had gone to Los Angeles because they got tickets to Universal Studios for Christmas. Kate Schelter drove five hours from Oakland to Los Angeles Monday with her two children after her Southwest flight was repeatedly delayed. carrier — as of Monday evening, according to FlightAware. Schelter, who went to L.A. It was really sad.” [according to Flight Aware.](https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/)

Air travelers hoping for clear skies on Tuesday following a disastrous week of weather-related flight cancellations and delays in the US will have to extend ...

-- Greyhound, the largest provider of intercity bus service, issued a [service alert ](https://www.greyhound.com/en/service-alert)on Monday afternoon stating many of its scheduled services in the upper northeast will be canceled or disrupted until further notice due to winter weather. The agent said Southwest would be providing buses to area hotels and assured that "we will have sufficient rooms for all customers who are affected by this disruption." The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan," the agency tweeted. -- In hard-hit western New York, [Buffalo International Airport](https://twitter.com/BUFAirport/status/1607467618260107264) said in its most recent tweet that it does not plan to resume passenger flights before 11 a.m. "This ultimately is a leadership problem," Murray stated. "We've been having these issues for the past 20 months," he said. "We will make sure they are taken care of, that is not a question." rental cars to try and make sure these folks get home as quickly as possible." 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. "The main hotline for US airlines will be clogged with other passengers getting rebooked. McVay said that the company's first priority right now is safety. "We had a tough day today.

Of the 2890 flight cancellations in the U.S. early Tuesday, 2522 were called off by Southwest, according to the tracking website FlightAware.

The flight was rebooked through Burbank, California, but that flight was canceled while they sat at the gate. “The airline cannot connect crews to airplanes. “They like acted like (Tuesday’s flight) was going to go until they started saying, ‘Oh, five more minutes. She still doesn’t know what to think of Southwest. The airline didn’t even know where pilots were at.” The Dallas-based airline had little new to say about its woes. And the chaos seemed certain to continue. The airline said many pilots and flight attendants were out of position to work their flights. “I went there in 2019, and she looked at me and said, ‘I’m not going to see you again.'” Stoll said. Conrad Stoll, a 66-year-old retired construction worker in Missouri, planned to fly from Kansas City to Los Angeles for his father’s 90th birthday party until his Southwest flight was canceled early Tuesday. Others found spots to sleep on the floor. Those flights accounted for more than 80 percent of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware.

(NEXSTAR) – Despite the worst of the winter weather being over by Tuesday, the travel nightmare for Southwest Airlines was far from over.

[looking into the thousands of flights canceled](https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/3789391-department-of-transportation-says-its-concerned-by-southwests-unacceptable-rate-of-cancellations/) by Southwest to see if the company is complying with the promises outlined in its customer service plan. [Nexstar Media Wire News](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/) [Nexstar Media Wire News](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/) [Nexstar Media Wire News](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/) [Nexstar Media Wire News](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/) [See All](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/) “We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S.,” the airline said. [See all Hill.TV](https://thehill.com/hilltv) [See all Video](https://thehill.com/video) The bad weather in part of the country triggered a snowball effect that had travelers in sunny [Nexstar Media Wire News](https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/)

The airline canceled about 8000 flights when other airlines reported zero to 2% cancellation rates during a major winter storm.

“Unreliable airline travel has been an ongoing nightmare for more than two and a half years”, Murray said. Southwest said it would take steps to cover reasonable travel costs including hotels, rental cars and tickets on other airlines. At the same time, it expanded its service to 18 new cities. But the cost to its reputation could be worse. Even after the storm passed in most of the US, disruptions appeared to briefly intensify. Other carriers, including American, United, Delta and JetBlue, reported cancellation rates between zero and 2% on Tuesday, after recording 20% of flights scrubbed over the weekend. Travelers and reporters across the country described chaos at local airports, with hours-long lines, delays stretching into multiple days, baggage areas overflowing with stranded luggage, and Southwest [ airline agents in tears](https://twitter.com/fordsandersTV/status/1607415694227808257) after dealing with furious passengers. Analysts warned that Southwest could lose 3% to 5% from its quarterly earnings. Polon said some of her fellow passengers could not get rebooked until Wednesday. Between Thursday and Monday, the Dallas-based airline canceled about 8,000 flights nationwide, according to the website FlightAware. [statement](https://image.email.twu556.org/lib/fe2e11737164047c7c1d72/m/1/SWA+Ruined+Christmas+for+Flight+Attendants+News+Release+DRAFT+12.26.22.docx.pdf), the transport workers union that represents Southwest’s flight attendants called the company’s treatment of its own flight crews “despicable” and said that “many years of failure by management”, including delays in upgrading technology systems, was to blame for the nationwide failures, not the storm conditions alone. [TikTok from the San Diego airport](https://www.tiktok.com/@randysilver09/video/7181230317284494635?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&refer=embed) described the scene as “WILDDD” and said there was an “ eight-hour line to speak to Southwest attendants”.

In the last few days, Southwest Airlines has had the highest rate of flight cancellations of any US airline. Photo: JOE RONDONE/USA TODAY NETWORK (Reuters).

Bob Jordan, Southwest’s CEO, [told the ](https://www.wsj.com/articles/southwests-troubles-mount-as-airline-scraps-more-than-half-its-flights-11672084678) [Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/southwests-troubles-mount-as-airline-scraps-more-than-half-its-flights-11672084678) on Dec. [been building](https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-post-mortem-meltdown-burnout/) at the airline for several years. And Southwest, unlike most major US airlines, [doesn’t concentrate its operations](https://theaircurrent.com/airlines/southwest-post-mortem-meltdown-burnout/) around a few big hub airports. [FlightAware](https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/today), out of 4,006 canceled flights into, within, or out of the US on Dec. 27, at the time of publishing. The majority of those were operated by a single airline: Southwest.

Airlines cancel more than 2800 flights Tuesday morning, the majority of them with Southwest. At LAX, scores of flight cancellations and delays.

Airline has so far canceled an estimated 10,000 scheduled flights. Washington (December 27, 2022) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) ...

In May, the three lawmakers [wrote a letter](https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-chairwoman-cantwell-and-senator-blumenthal-urge-transportation-department-to-increase-transparency-and-efficiency-for-airline-refunds) to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging the Department to use its regulatory power to take actions to protect consumers by clarifying and codifying policies requiring carriers and ticket agents to provide prompt refunds after a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, as well as clarifying the rights for consumers who are unable to travel due to government restrictions or the declaration of a public health emergency. “Southwest cannot avoid compensating passengers by claiming these flight cancellations were caused by recent winter storms. Southwest is planning to issue a $428 million dividend next year – the company can afford to do right by the consumers it has harmed.

Thousands of travellers are stranded at airports across the US as flight cancellations and delays continue to wreak havoc amid a deadly winter storm.

With flight cancellations and delays continuing, thousands of passengers have been left at airports across the country as they attempt to re-book flights or make alternative travel arrangements. In a tweet on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said that his administration is "working to ensure airlines are held accountable" for disruptions. Social media images from angry passengers showed masses of bags lined up or in piles near baggage carousels. "We've been chasing our tails, trying to catch up and get back to normal safely, which is our number one priority, as quickly as we could," he said. Senator Maria Cantwell, the chair of the US Senate Commerce Committee, said that the committee will "be looking into the causes of these disruptions and its impact to consumers." Thousands of travellers are stranded at airports across the US as flight cancellations and delays continue to wreak havoc amid a deadly winter storm.

President Biden, members of his administration and lawmakers are taking aim at Southwest Airlines amid an ongoing holiday travel debacle in which the ...

Southwest isn't the only airline experiencing delays and cancellations, but it is by far the worst-hit, with about 5500 of its flights canceled across the ...

Finally, the family decided to rent a car and drive back to Denver — a 26-hour drive. Just before they departed for the airport, Lenz checked his phone app "to make sure everything was good." So our goal is to take a quick breather at the hotel and then pick it up again so we can be there Thursday night," Lenz says. Mike Santoro, the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association that represents the airline's more than 10,000 pilots, said on CNN that the union was "tired of apologizing for Southwest. "But that's when everything started to get canceled," he says — including his Tuesday flight. "Southwest has always been a laggard when it comes to technology." Our hearts go out to all of the passengers." "So when there's bad weather, everything tends to get out of position." "And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning," Southwest said. We've had clear skies in the United States for several days now, more or less, and Southwest is the only airline that is failing so spectacularly here." With Southwest, however, "their pilots take off in the morning from one city, then they fly to two, three, four, five, six other cities. Now, the soonest he's been able to reschedule is for Thursday night.

Government says it'll investigate why Southwest fell so far behind other carriers.

The flight was rebooked through Burbank, California, but that flight was canceled while they sat at the gate. “The airline cannot connect crews to airplanes. “They like acted like (Tuesday’s flight) was going to go until they started saying, ‘Oh, five more minutes. The Dallas-based airline had little new to say about its woes. She still doesn’t know what to think of Southwest. The airline didn’t even know where pilots were at.” And the chaos seemed certain to continue. “I went there in 2019, and she looked at me and said, ‘I’m not going to see you again.’” Stoll said. Others found spots to sleep on the floor. Conrad Stoll, a 66-year-old retired construction worker in Missouri, planned to fly from Kansas City to Los Angeles for his father’s 90th birthday party until his Southwest flight was canceled early Tuesday. Those flights accounted for more than 80 percent of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware. airlines had recovered from the storm, Southwest called off about 2,600 more flights on the East Coast by midafternoon.

The Dallas-based airline has canceled more flights than any other airline during the holidays, prompting federal investigators to ask why.

On Christmas Day, [more than 100 flights](https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-Airport-flights-17677218.php) were delayed or canceled at the San Antonio International Airport. Those technology problems, he said, have left pilots and crews stranded in cities across the country looking for accommodations, unable to get through to airline officials to find out where they — or the planes they’re scheduled to staff — are supposed to be. Department of Transportation called the service meltdown, which resulted in the cancellation or delay of most of the carrier’s flights over the holiday weekend, “disproportionate and unacceptable.” Our hearts go out to all of the passengers.” “We’ll work to make things right for those we’ve let down.” “The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.” 31, and you’ll help us get one step closer to achieving our $90,000 goal. Join or renew as a member before Dec. “This weather situation is overwhelming. “We are tired of apologizing for Southwest. flights that day. And air travelers’ woes are likely to continue this week.

Relief is still a few days away for passengers booked with Southwest Airlines this week, as the beleaguered airline continues to grapple with what US ...

He added: "It is frustrating for the pilots, the flight attendants and especially our passengers. "It can't handle the number of pilots, flight attendants that we have in the system, with our complex route network. Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Capt. We fly a point-to-point network, which can put our crews in the wrong places, without airplanes." "We will make sure they are taken care of, that is not a question." rental cars to try and make sure these folks get home as quickly as possible." "First things first, travelers who are still stuck waiting on Southwest and need to get somewhere should try to book a flight with another airline as soon as possible ... "We've seen a lot of families who are sleeping on the floor, and it just breaks my heart." Hobby Airport on Monday night the airline will do everything possible to right the challenges passengers have experienced, including "hotels, ride assistance, vans ... "The main hotline for US airlines will be clogged with other passengers getting rebooked. Out of the 2,743 cancellations already made for Wednesday flights within, into or out of the United States as of 5:30 a.m. Meanwhile, the website shows the airline has already canceled another 2,348 flights for Thursday.

The airline canceled another 2500 flights on Wednesday and said it would be days before normal service resumes.

Waiting in line at the Atlanta airport on Tuesday, Anthony Malloy, 63, of Queens, N.Y., said he would not be able to get on a flight before Friday. “Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes,” Mr. But bad weather can scramble multiple flights and routes in a point-to-point model, leaving the Southwest staff out of position to resume normal operations. Southwest, she said, had been her “go-to airline” before the debacle this week that kept her from celebrating the holiday with loved ones. He added: “What this indicates is a system failure, and they need to make sure that these stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they are provided adequate compensation.” Luckily, though, her large, white suitcase full of Christmas presents was waiting for her at the airport when she arrived. “We’re making headway, and we’re optimistic to be back on track before next week.” Her flight two days before Christmas was canceled, and then one the day after Christmas was canceled, too. He had been waiting for four hours on Wednesday, but Southwest could not locate the luggage. Southwest has been uniquely unable to get its planes back in the air after the storm. “We are past the point where they could say that this is a weather-driven issue,” Mr. Stuck in one long baggage claim line at Chicago Midway International Airport on Wednesday was James Tholen, who was trying to retrieve luggage that had been missing for four days.

Southwest isn't the only airline experiencing delays and cancellations, but it is by far the worst-hit, with about 5500 of its flights canceled across the ...

Finally, the family decided to rent a car and drive back to Denver — a 26-hour drive. Just before they departed for the airport, Lenz checked his phone app "to make sure everything was good." So our goal is to take a quick breather at the hotel and then pick it up again so we can be there Thursday night," Lenz says. "But that's when everything started to get canceled," he says — including his Tuesday flight. Mike Santoro, the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association that represents the airline's more than 10,000 pilots, said on CNN that the union was "tired of apologizing for Southwest. "Southwest has always been a laggard when it comes to technology." Our hearts go out to all of the passengers." "So when there's bad weather, everything tends to get out of position." "And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning," Southwest said. We've had clear skies in the United States for several days now, more or less, and Southwest is the only airline that is failing so spectacularly here." With Southwest, however, "their pilots take off in the morning from one city, then they fly to two, three, four, five, six other cities. Now, the soonest he's been able to reschedule is for Thursday night.

Families hoping to catch a Southwest Airlines flight after days of cancellations, missing luggage and missed family connections suffered through another ...

“We have some real work to do in making this right,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. He said Southwest's tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, but clearly we need to double down" on upgrading systems to avoid a repeat of this week. According to the FlightAware tracking service, more than 91% of all canceled flights in the U.S.

US government says it will look into why the company's recovery from winter storm chaos lags behind other carriers.

“We have some real work to do in making this right,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. Danielle Zanin vowed never to fly Southwest again after it took four days, several canceled flights and sleeping in the airport before she, her husband and their two young children got home to Illinois from Albuquerque, New Mexico. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, but clearly we need to double down” on upgrading systems to avoid a repeat of this week. Those flights accounted for more than 80% of the 3,000 trips that got canceled nationwide on Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware. In Congress, the Senate commerce committee also promised an investigation. And the chaos seemed certain to continue.

The Transportation secretary upped the pressure on Southwest, pointedly saying the travel meltdown goes beyond a weather-driven issue.

It also fined them a total of $7.25 million and said more civil penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations could follow by the end of the year. Typically, compensation owed to fliers depends on whether an event was in the airline’s control — like an equipment malfunction — or out of its control, like weather. He reiterated that the Texas-based airline must also work to get meal vouchers, hotel stays and ground transportation in place “because this is the airline’s responsibility.” The current ranking member of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. I want to see exactly what that means.” “They pledged to me that they’re going to do that.