The winter storm that disrupted journey plans over the weekend and created an epic pile-on of flight cancellations for Southwest Airlines left the provider’s passengers “beyond frustrated,” as one put it to CBS DFW. Thousands of households have been stranded, with some ready days to board planes.
Southwest prospects at Dallas Love Field expressed disappointment, frustration and anger Monday after dealing with a number of flight delays and cancellations since earlier than Christmas.
Talia Jones, a Southwest Air buyer, informed CBS DFW she was “beyond frustrated and hurt because I can’t see my dad. So yeah, it’s very disappointing.”
As of 5 a.m. ET Tuesday, Southwest was accountable for an awesome majority of U.S. cancellations for the brand new day, in keeping with flight monitoring web site FlightAware.com: 2,495 out of two,809 for all carriers.
Two-thirds of Southwest’s flights had been canceled as of Monday afternoon, in keeping with FlightAware.
On Monday afternoon, the board at Dallas Love Field, confirmed each single arrival had been canceled, in keeping with reporter Kelly Laco.
At Chicago’s Midway International Airport – the place Southwest is the principle provider – the wait occasions have been excessive, and persistence was operating low Monday night time, CBS Chicago mentioned.
The scenario was described by one traveler as nothing in need of a multitude. In addition to lengthy traces taking over area, tons of and tons of of baggage have been ready to be claimed because the cancellations and delays saved piling up.
“It’s been hell,” mentioned Denzil Smothers, whose flight was canceled.
The federal Department of Transportation on Monday mentioned it might examine the meltdown, saying it was “concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay.”
“As more information becomes available the Department will closely examine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan as well as all other pertinent DOT rules,” the division mentioned in a press release.
Traveler Michael Bauzon and his household deliberate on flying out of Orlando International Airport on Friday to return residence to Indianapolis in time for Christmas on Sunday. Instead, the 4 spent the vacations in a lodge after their flight was canceled, Bauzon informed CBS affiliate WKMG, and have been again on the airport on Monday — the place they continued to attend.
“This morning we got here at 4:30 for a 7:05 flight, we looked it up, and oh it had just been canceled,” he mentioned, gesturing to a line snaking in entrance of the Southwest service counter. “It’s a four- to five-hour line … before they can get us on a flight — if they can get us on a flight,” he mentioned.
Widespread storm, outdated tech
In a press release Monday that opened with “heartfelt apologies,” Southwest mentioned that its geography made it “uniquely” weak to the storm, with half of the airports by which it flies affected by winter climate.
“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. This 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,” the assertion mentioned.
“We anticipate additional changes with an already reduced level of flights as we approach the coming New Year holiday travel period,” it famous.
The firm additionally blames an absence of know-how. “Part of what we’re suffering is a lack of tools. We’ve talked an awful lot about modernizing the operation, and the need to do that,” CEO Bob Jordan mentioned in an inside message on Sunday that was reported by a number of media shops and the flight attendants’ union.
Jammed cellphone traces, methods
Southwest directed prospects away from jammed cellphone traces, noting that it was experiencing “system points” amid elevated demand.
Spokesperson Chris Perry mentioned the airline’s on-line reserving and check-in methods are nonetheless working, however have been additionally jammed due to “abnormally high” volumes of visitors on their web site. “We are re-accommodating as many Customers as possible based on available space,” he informed CBS News.
As Southwest blamed technological points, the flight attendants’ union, Transit Workers Union 556, accused the airline of contributing to the issue by underinvesting in know-how for years.
“The lack of technology has left the airline relying on manual solutions and personal phone calls, leaving flight attendants on hold with Southwest Airlines for up to 17 hours at a time simply to be released to go home after their trip, or while attempting to secure a hotel room or know where their next trip will be,” the union mentioned in a press release. “While reroutes and rescheduling are understood to be a part of the job in the airline industry, the massive scale of the failure over the past few days points to a shirking of responsibility over many years for investing in and implementing technology that could help solve for many of the issues that plague flight attendants and passengers alike.”
The union and airline have been in contract negotiations for 4 years.
— With reporting by Zel Elvi, Kathryn Krupnik, Kris Van Cleave and Brian Dakss.