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Thousands of Southwest Airlines flights were delayed or canceled across the country on Monday, prompting mounting criticism of the airline from disgruntled passengers and the federal government.
The airline canceled 2,886 flights, or 70% of scheduled flights, amid a winter storm that battered parts of the country on Monday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Every airline has had to cancel or delay flights in recent days, but Southwest’s totals are particularly high.
Of the more than 160 flight cancellations and more than 340 delays at Los Angeles International Airport that left passengers stranded trying to return home after Christmas, 11, 106 of the cancellations and nearly 30 delays were from Southwest flights, according to FOX.
Southwest said they are rebooking as many customers as possible and that people whose flights have been canceled may request a refund or receive a credit, although rebooking is contingent on space being available on available flights.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CANCEL MORE THAN HALF OF FLIGHTS DUE TO WINTER WEATHER
Thousands of Southwest Airlines flights were delayed or canceled across the country on Monday, prompting mounting criticism of the airline from disgruntled passengers and the federal government. (Portal/Mike Blake/Portal)
Passengers at LAX said the airline could not rebook their flight until December 31 at the earliest. Southwest Airlines’ website shows there are no flights available from LAX to Sea-Tac (SEA), New York (LGA), or San Francisco (SFO) through December 31.
And at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, more than 300 flights were canceled as of 5 p.m. local time.
Passengers are frustrated with the airline and have said they only found out about the problems when they arrived at the airport for their flights. More than half of Southwest’s flights at that airport were canceled Monday.
Southwest delayed 48% of flights on Sunday and 16% on Monday, and the airline has already canceled 60% of its scheduled Tuesday flights.
Now the US Department of Transportation is criticizing Southwest, saying the rate of canceled flights is “unacceptable.”
The airline canceled 2,886 flights, or 70% of scheduled flights, on Monday amid a winter storm that battered parts of the country. (Mark Hoffman/USA Today Network via Portal/Portal Photos)
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“USDOT is concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays, as well as its failure to adequately assist customers who experience a cancellation or delay,” the department said in a statement. “As more information becomes available, the department will conduct a thorough review to determine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan and any other applicable DOT rules.”
Southwest declined to comment to FOX News Digital about criticism from passengers and the Department of Transportation, but cited an earlier statement in which the airline “sincerely apologized” and said it was working on it, “urgently responding to widespread disruption.” Security to respond the tip.
“Having weathered consecutive days of extreme winter weather on our network, the ongoing challenges are affecting our customers and employees in an unacceptable way,” the airline said.
Southwest delayed 48% of flights on Sunday and 16% on Monday, and the airline has already canceled 60% of its scheduled Tuesday flights. ((AP Photo/David Zalubowski) / AP Newsroom)
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“We were fully staffed and prepared for the upcoming holiday weekend as the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest airline in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the United States,” the statement continued. “These operating conditions forced daily changes to our flight schedule on a scale and scale that still has the tools our teams have used to restore the airline to capacity.”
Southwest also said it will continue to operate a reduced flight schedule, flying about a third of its schedule over the next few days.