Thousands of flights have been canceled by Southwest Airlines, which has left some customers stranded and others struggling to reschedule their flights.
As of Monday evening, over 3,900 flights within, into, or out of the United States have been canceled, according to FlightAware. About 7,798 flights were delayed within, into, or out of the U.S. Monday.
The majority of the flights that were canceled belonged to Southwest Airlines, according to CNN.
FlightAware reported that about 70% of Southwest Airlines flights were canceled as of Monday evening at 10 p.m. EST. That is about 2893 flights — almost double, if not triple that of other airlines.
In addition, Southwest Airlines experienced about 16% delays, which is about 668 flights, according to FlightAware.
KHOU reported that many passengers were left stranded and oftentimes, were separated from their luggage.
On Monday evening, KHOU reported that Southwest Airlines reportedly made an announcement over the intercom at the Hobby Airport that stranded travelers would not be able to rebook their canceled flight until Saturday, Dec. 31, and that the airline would be providing hotels for any customers who are stranded. Southwest Airlines also reportedly said it would provide vouchers.
A similar announcement was made at Denver International Airport, according to CNN, in which Southwest Airlines said flights would not be rebooked until Jan. 3.
“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. And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement.
“We’re working to reach to Customers whose travel plans will change with specific information and their available options,” said Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines said that it was fully staffed going into the severe winter weather over the holiday weekend combined with the severe winter weather. The airline said it was forced to make operational adjustments and said that it expects to make additional changes — with additional reduced flights going into the New Year holiday as well.
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