Following the Christmas holiday, Southwest Airlines canceled dozens of flights across the country on Monday, stranding passengers at Chicago’s Midway Airport. According to ABC News, by 7 p.m. Central Time on Monday, Southwest had already canceled 70% of its Monday flights and 60% of its Tuesday flights. The airline’s website and app are only working occasionally, and the phone lines have crashed from the overwhelming number of calls.
American Airlines, which also has a hub in Chicago, has canceled fewer than a tenth as many flights (twelve on Monday and nine on Tuesday). One week or more will likely be needed to catch up on everything that has piled up.
“To put it simply, I’m angry because how could you possibly have anticipated this? Or how else could they have been more ready?” canceled passenger Noelle Cormack’s words. The Naperville family Cormacks missed their cruise because their Southwest flight to Florida was canceled, and the next one isn’t for another three days.
“Because you had to cancel yesterday, we now have, will have to pay for our accommodation. Not possible, “reported Kathie Cormack. There was a five-and-a-half-hour wait in the Southwest rebooking line at Midway. As time passed, more and more bags piled up at Midway’s baggage claim, creating a veritable ocean of suitcases stretching as far as the eye could see. But very few people are around to pick them up. Lost bags have been circling the skies for days.
“Perhaps I should have brought a backpack because I just found out my flight was canceled because they don’t have enough staff to operate the plane. Now we’re attempting to get our bags back, but they insist on taking them to Raleigh-Durham without us, “according to John Ruh, whose flight was also canceled.
“A little over two and a half days ago, I departed New Orleans. Canceled. Delayed. Canceled. Delayed. Canceled, “I can’t find my bags,” Carolyn Irving, who was frantically searching for her belongings, complained. “I need to get to my bag, where the medicine is, ASAP. Toys and other goodies are included. But when you call, no one answers.”
Southwest Airlines is notable for its frequent point-to-point routes. Since last week’s winter storm, which hit their Midway hub in addition to Denver, their planes are dispersed in the incorrect areas. According to aviation expert and DePaul University professor Joe Schwieterman, “Southwest’s problem is the system is out of kilter, and the snowstorm is moving, and they just haven’t been able to reset the operation.”
The DOT of the United States tweeted, “The US Department of Transportation has expressed worry over Southwest’s excessive cancellations and delays, as well as reports of unresponsive customer service. The Department will investigate whether the cancellations might have been prevented and whether or not Southwest is following its customer service strategy.”
Casey Murray, captain and union president for Southwest Airlines, described the situation to ABC News as “catastrophic.” “Every aspect of Southwest’s operation has failed. Our pilots and frontline staff have put in many hours of labor under intense pressure to deliver our customers to their destinations on time. Still, unfortunately, Southwest has dealt us a feeble hand, “Murray remarked.
The flight attendants’ union also made a statement, saying in part, “According to TWU Local 556, the union representing Southwest Airlines flight attendants, the airline has failed its employees once again due to years of failure to modernize operations. And it’s happening on Christmas this time!”
Southwest Airlines released a statement in which they said, “Days of severe winter weather across our network are over, but the ongoing issues are having an unacceptable effect on our customers and employees.
“And please know that our sincere apologies for this are merely getting started. To better serve our future passengers, we are reorganizing the airline with Safety as our top priority and redistributing our crews and fleet.
However, one expert in the field suggests that modern passengers have additional rights. Scott Kelly, the owner of Scott’s Cheap Flights, advised passengers to “make sure you save those receipts because you’re going to want to submit those to Southwest after the fact to see about getting your hotel, your meal, your taxi ride reimbursed,” as it appears that the recent spate of cancellations is not due to weather.
There are long wait times at the luggage check Menda Speckels and her children missed their flight back to Texas on Monday because of the delays they experienced that morning. “We checked in around 3:30, and our flight was at 5:20. In addition to the absurd wait times, “she said. Tourists who attempted to travel over the Christmas break had a terrible time.
Numerous flights departing from O’Hare and Midway Airport are canceled every day. Canceled or delayed by the thousands across the country. Today, Monday, is, unfortunately, no exception.
I got caught here,” Ayana Ortiz said. When our flight was unexpectedly canceled, we had to wait around to see if we could be rescheduled. Ortiz got up at an ungodly hour, making it to the airport at 3:45 a.m., only to learn that their flight had been canceled.
It’s “a little aggravating,” she remarked. “We picked the early flight to get home and into bed earlier. However, the outcome was not as expected.” Anna Kang, however, may be in worse shape. Since Sunday afternoon, she has been at O’Hare Airport trying to board a flight to San Diego.
She mentioned that “two flights were canceled.” “It took me approximately an hour and a half to get through security at the other airport and book a flight. Therefore, I traveled to Midway Airport from O’Hare.” Unfortunately, her Sunday night trip from Midway was also canceled. “We learned that at 1:00 this morning,” Kang added. “Since yesterday, I’ve been up through the night. Here? Here. I arrived here about eight o’clock last night, so it’s been over 24 hours.”
Especially hard-hit was Southwest Airlines. The longest ticketing lineups at Midway are for Southwest. Passengers are getting to the point where they need a backup plan. Now we’re on our way back to Austin,” Speckels remarked. “There was a delay of 17 hours. A rental automobile was available, and I was able to secure one. Although there wasn’t much to choose from, I did locate one. A minute from now, I suppose we can begin again here. Cause there were none to take off? No. None.”
Statement from the Chicago Department of Aviation “The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) places a premium on ensuring the well-being of its customers and workers. “Chicago’s airports are prepared for higher passenger flow during the holiday travel period thanks to the efforts of Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and CDA Commissioner Jamie L.Rhee, CDA personnel, and partners at the airlines and the FAA. “Flyers should call their airlines to confirm their flights’ status before heading to the airports.”
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