MILWAUKEE — Southwest Airlines says it plans to operate a reduced schedule by flying one-third of its schedule for the next several days.
The airline says the extreme winter weather continues to challenge its employees. Southwest now plans to rebalance by repositioning its crews and fleet.
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"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," Southwest said in a statement. "These operational conditions forced daily changes of an unprecedented volume and magnitude to our flight schedule and the tools our teams use to recover the airline remain at capacity."
Customers can contact Southwest to rebook or request a refund on theairline's website.Southwest's Travel Advisory remains in effect to offer customers maximum flexibility with rebooking, the airline says.
Jamila Sampson and her three kids have been trying to get home to Atlanta. Sampson said she heard about the issues, but when her flight information was confirmed overnight she felt good about going to the airport. However, Tuesday morning Sampson could not access the Southwest app and found out after arriving at the airport that their flight was canceled.
Sampson was left competing with other passengers for flights through another airline. So far, she has one ticket for Saturday but still needs to find tickets for her kids. Thankfully, they have family to stay with in Milwaukee.
"Everybody on the flight should've been alerted your flight is canceled. Had I known that last night, maybe I would've been able to get us all on the same flight, or had I known that even before coming to the airport, then maybe I wouldn't have driven over here," Sampson said.
Southwest Airlines pointed to consecutive days of extreme winter weather causing significant disruptions despite being fully staffed and prepared for the holiday weekend.
In the baggage claim area, suitcases piled up as a guard sat nearby. Southwest representatives were seen trying to locate customers' luggage.
"First Christmas as a married couple has been very eventful," said Sophia Barnes.
Newlyweds Sophia Barnes and John Stimpson are trying to make it home to Washington D.C.
"She goes, 'it's all gone.' All of Southwest flights are canceled tomorrow and the only alternatives are to pay like $900 for a one-way flight," Stimpson said as he recalled his wife breaking the news.
The couple got lucky and nabbed a rental car to weather the 12-hour drive back.
"What can you do than go with the flow and make the best of it, right," Stimpson said.
Some travelers said Southwest could not get them on a flight until Jan. 2.
The airline said on Tuesday that it will operate on a reduced schedule by flying about one-third of its schedule over the next several days.
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Southwest Airline's full statement can be read below:
"With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.
And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.
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.
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. These operational conditions forced daily changes of an unprecedented volume and magnitude to our flight schedule and the tools our teams use to recover the airline remain at capacity.
This safety-first work is intentional, ongoing, and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences. As we continue the work to recover our operation, we have made the decision to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days. And we're working to reach Customers whose travel plans will change to offer specific information and available options, also available at Southwest.com/traveldisruption.
Our Employees and Crews scheduled to work this holiday season are showing up in every single way. We are beyond grateful for that. Our shared goal is to take care of every single Customer with the Hospitality and Heart for which we're known.
On the other side of this, we'll work to make things right for those we've let down, including our Employees.
With no concern higher than ultimate Safety, the People of Southwest share a goal to take care of each and every Customer. We recognize falling short and sincerely apologize."
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