Southwest Airlines has canceled 39 flights scheduled for that day, which makes up less than 1% of the total planned. So far, however, the outlook appears relatively positive for flight prospects at the company on Friday. "It has become a nightmare getting passengers to their final destinations on flights that aren't canceled, other airlines, rental cars, buses or trains," he said. In an interview with ABC News, Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, lamented the persistence of such challenges at Southwest Airlines, including passengers "unable to get anybody on the phone to help them" and the company's "inability to fully keep track of where their own flight crews are."įeinstein, formerly of American Airlines, said he expects the flight cancellations to endure for weeks, since the initial cancellations create a "domino effect" in which the company struggles to rebook delayed passengers, leaving others unable to find flights. The lack of adequate staffing has extended to the company's call centers, where customers face long wait times as they seek an alternative flight or a reimbursement. "The airline needs to do more to protect its ground crews." "When you're dealing with sub-zero temperatures, driving winds and ice storms you can't expect to schedule planes as if every day is a sunny day with moderate temperatures and a gentle breeze," Barnes said. The mismanagement has forced ground workers to complete 16- or 18- hour workdays over this holiday season, exposing them to bitter cold, sickness and even frostbite, Randy Barnes, president of TWU Local 555, which represents ground workers at Southwest Airlines, said in a statement. While the snowstorm grounded flights in and out of key airports in Southwest's network, the historic scale of cancellations stems from the company's uniquely complex flight coordination model and its antiquated internal scheduling systems, according to flight experts, Southwest Airlines officials and union leaders. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the problems at Southwest Airlines "go beyond weather." In an interview with ABC News' Byron Pitts, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday described the wave of flight cancellations at Southwest Airlines as a "shocking and unacceptable level of disruption." Meanwhile Sen. Each figure accounted for less than 1% of the respective company's total flights.
The holiday meltdown at Southwest Airlines, however, has far eclipsed its competitors.īy Wednesday afternoon, the company had canceled more than 2,500 flights planned for the day, which amounted to 62% of the day's total, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.īy contrast, as of Wednesday afternoon, United Airlines had canceled just 11 flights scheduled for the day while American Airlines had canceled 23, FlightAware said. with snow, slowing air travel during a peak season and causing tens of thousands of flight cancellations. A massive storm has blanketed much of the U.S.
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