Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,800 flights the day after Christmas, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The canceled flights account for approximately 70 percent of Southwest’s schedule.
“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable,” Southwest said in a statement. “And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.”
This is baggage claim at @DENAirport. Customers of @SouthwestAir say line to rebook is 3+ hours long. Some have been stranded for days, unable to get a rental car or hotel. Via FlightAware: 376 cancelled Southwest flights at DEN. The next most is United with 22 cancellations. pic.twitter.com/7fzeSnnYUo
— Courtney Yuen (@courtyuen) December 26, 2022
The statement continued, “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. These operational conditions forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity.”
#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. Several are in tears. @10News pic.twitter.com/cpUfblhV5t
— Laura Acevedo (@10NewsAcevedo) December 27, 2022
“Overall, around 3,900 flights were canceled within, into or out of the U.S. on Monday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Southwest had 2,893 flights canceled at one point Monday, roughly 70% of its schedule, according to the site,” NBC News reports. “Delta had around 300 and United around 130.”
Amid the massive chaos, Southwest announced that it would continue to fly just one-third of its schedule for the coming days.
This is just part of the line to rebook at the @SouthwestAir counter at @DENAirport. It’s been 3+ hours long all day. Via FlightAware: Southwest has 415 DEN canceled flights, 69 delayed. United has 23 flight canceled, 191 delayed. @9NEWS pic.twitter.com/WL1aelG8c1
— Courtney Yuen (@courtyuen) December 27, 2022
“This safety-first work is intentional, ongoing, and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences. As we continue the work to recover our operation, we have made the decision to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days. And we’re working to reach Customers whose travel plans will change to offer specific information and available options.”
The Southwest terminal in Austin, Texas… #SouthwestAirlines
— Aviation Hangout
(@AviationHangout) December 27, 2022
A visual representation of the disaster that is air travel at the moment. A Southwest Airlines rep just said over the intercom that bags are heading to final destination, even if the flight they were scheduled on is cancelled. pic.twitter.com/xV21IX1rcm
— Rob Harris (@robharristv) December 26, 2022
“On the other side of this, we’ll work to make things right for those we’ve let down, including our Employees,” the statement concluded. “With no concern higher than ultimate Safety, the People of Southwest share a goal to take care of each and every Customer. We recognize falling short and sincerely apologize.”
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