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Thousands of people have been left stranded this holiday weekend after Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights amid extreme winter weather conditions.
The Dallas, Texas-based airline canceled approximately 2,897 flights as of 22:03 p.m. ET Monday; making up at least 71 percent of its scheduled flights for the day, according to flight tracker FlightAware. That is more cancellations than any other airline.
Another 667 flights were delayed, leaving customers waiting around, often for hours, in busy airports. A day prior, on Sunday, the airline canceled more than 1,600 flights.
Passengers whose flights were canceled were later notified that they would not be able to rebook on Southwest Airlines until Saturday, Dec. 31, or after, according to multiple reports.
In a statement, the airline blamed the severe weather events on the cancellations, noting that it was fully staffed and “prepared” for the busy holiday weekend.
“Our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning,” the airline said. “We’re working with safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning crews and our fleet ultimately to best serve all who plan to travel with us.”
The airline added that the winter blizzard had “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.”New Year to See Reduced Flights
“This safety-first work is intentional, ongoing, and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences. We anticipate additional changes with an already reduced level of flights as we approach the coming New Year holiday travel period. And we’re working to reach to Customers whose travel plans will change with specific information and their available options,” Southwest said.
