A day after Christmas, Southwest Airlines, one of the major airlines of the United States cancelled 2,886 flights or 70 percent of its schedule, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.The cancellations, which have left passengers stranded in the holiday season, come in the wake of a brutal winter storm that some have dubbed the 'blizzard of the century'. The storm has left nearly 50 people dead across the United States and caused Christmas travel chaos.
As a result, airports across the US are witnessing chaos with thousands of travelers and crew members stranded. The airports in Denver, Las Vegas, Chicago Midway, and Dallas Love Field, where Southwest is headquartered, witnessed the most cancellations, CNN reported. Passengers have complained of long lines to re-book flights, efforts to retrieve baggage, and unanswered phone calls to customer service. Southwest Airlines said this all started from the winter storm, which exacerbated staffing issues. According to ABC13, stranded Southwest customers can't rebook their flights until after December 31.
Frustrated travelers are now narrating their harrowing experiences on social media, sharing videos to show the ongoing chaos at the airports. Several passengers said how they were reduced to tears after they had to wait hours to get their luggage. Some were told to find their bags in a sea of suitcases placed on the floor at the baggage claim area.
Here are some posts:
Thought I'd show y'all *some* of the #southwest bags piled up at MDW, they had a carousel and a half full of bags needing to be rerouted—not counting the flights cancelled today. Luckily, I found mine by just going back up there after 3 days w/no update pic.twitter.com/oGFSsOVrWi
— Gawdess, Riah (@gambeaux) December 27, 2022
@SouthwestAir could I have someone reach out to me? I drove to SD to fly out and all the flights for canceled. I'm stranded here now. This line is ridiculous. My calls aren't going through to CustService #Southwestair #Southwestairlines #lovefield #Southwest pic.twitter.com/y2E4LsfM8h
— Andrew (@WatchAndrew) December 25, 2022
The line at Atlanta International Airport (ATL) just for the Southwest bag checkin #SouthwestAirlines #Southwest
— Aviation Hangout ✈️ (@AviationHangout) December 27, 2022
pic.twitter.com/kS8OiojXsC
#Southwest #lovefield
— Lisa Thompson (@gleezamt) December 25, 2022
Luggage grave yard after mass cancelations Christmas Eve. Southwest, I love you all usually, but Christmas Eve was NOT your shining moment. Your Short staffed overworked crew was not considerate of all of our predicaments. What a fiasco. pic.twitter.com/Z6Fc4EA1DJ
My OAK to BUR flight on @SouthwestAir yesterday was delayed over 7 hours, line to check baggage was hours long, and nobody answered their 1-800. When I finally reached BUR, this was the scene. #epicfail #Southwest #SouthwestAirlines pic.twitter.com/QUYLjeOFje
— MC (@marina2sgr) December 26, 2022
Southwest Airlines Disaster
— JT (@jtmma567) December 26, 2022
Houston Hobby Airport
12/25@SouthwestAir #SouthwestAirlines #Southwest #southweststolechristmas #Houston pic.twitter.com/iO6ummEi6P
Meanwhile, The U.S. Department of Transportation tweeted on Monday night that it will look into whether Southwest Airlines is abiding by its customer service policy.
USDOT is concerned by Southwest's unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
In a tweet, they wrote, ''USDOT is concerned by Southwest's unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.''
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