Southwest cancels two-thirds of its post-Christmas flights, leaving thousands without a home

Returning travelers from Christmas All over the country, excursions were left stranded. Southwest Airlines Two-thirds or more of its stock has been canceled flightsThis attracted the attention of government officials.

Southwest nixed 2,909 flights on Monday, accounting for 71% of the company’s volume, according to data FlightAware has a far superior record than major airlines. Southwest also cancelled 2,536 flights scheduled for Tuesday and 2,474 flights set for Wednesday, which represent 63% and 61% respectively.

“We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we’ll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this,” Bob Jordan, chief executive, said this in interview Monday evening with the Wall Street Journal “This is the largest scale event that I’ve ever seen.”

Ryan Green, Southwest’s Chief Commercial Officer, told the outlet that Southwest would reimburse passengers who had to stay in hotels or rent cars. Customers whose flights were cancelled can be reimbursed.

The Department of Transportation said The agency will be open Monday “examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said He is monitoring the situation “closely.” Airlines are not required Passengers who are bumped on oversold flights will not be compensated for delayed or canceled flight cancellations.

According to FlightAware, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and United Airlines cancelled 9% and 55% respectively on Monday and 1% and 22% on Tuesday.

After that, the cancellations took place severe winter weatherTravel across the United States was affected by the heavy snowfalls and subzero temperatures. According to estimates, up to 54 million passengers would depart airports between December 18th and January 3rd. This is a 20% increase on last year. data Hopper.

Southwest, a Dallas-based company, said that the weather conditions caused the cancellations. “We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent,” According to the company, statement. “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.”

There were also thousands of flights. canceled Crew members contracted COVID infections last Christmas. On Christmas Day, hundreds of flights from the United States were cancelled and thousands more were delayed.

Ahead of this year’s holiday travel, airlines posted extensive lists They expect disruptions to flights in several cities, including Chicago and Grand Rapids. Customers who book their flights within a certain time frame are eligible for a waiver of fees by several companies.

Hopper reports that New York City, Los Angeles and Orlando are the most popular Christmas destinations. The average domestic roundtrip airfare price for Christmas is $339. This represents an 11% decline from 2019, and a 15% drop from 2021.

Winter weather is also caused More than one million American households and businesses will lose power, particularly along the East Coast. Major delivery services, such as FedEx or Amazon warned Last-minute Christmas packages may be delayed.

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