Southwest Airlines cancellation meltdown shows no sign of letup at South Florida airports
The tsunami of Southwest Airlines holiday flight cancellations, accounting for more than half of flights scrubbed in the United States, showed no signs of receding on Wednesday.
Southwest scrubbed 2,508 flights Wednesday, 62% of the 4,413 reported nationwide by Flight Aware, a digital aviation company that operates a flight tracking and data platform.
Winter weather grounded thousands of flights from many airlines over Christmas weekend, however all but Southwest have recovered or nearly returned to normal service. Southwest’s fiasco has prompted an inquiry by the Department of Transportation and the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, not to mention the customer backlash for an airline that for decades got high marks for customer service.
In South Florida, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had 90 cancellations on Wednesday and 137 delayed flights, according to an airport spokesperson.
At Miami International Airport, there were 37 cancellations and 148 delayed flights.
Tampa International Airport, which Tuesday saw 112 cancellations — 90% of them Southwest flights — had more of the same Wednesday with 115 canceled flights, all but eight of them Southwest.
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport had 24 cancellations, said Mark Stuckey, the airport’s executive vice president. Another 24 Southwest flights at SRQ have been scrubbed for Thursday as well, Stuckey reported.
At Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, 43 cancellations were being reported by Flight Aware.
Much of the blame for Southwest’s problems has been placed on the company’s outdated computer systems for staff scheduling and handling flight network disruptions.
On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan issued an apology to customers and airline staff.
“Our network is highly complex and the operation of the airline counts on all the pieces, especially aircraft and crews remaining in motion to where they’re planned to go. With our large fleet of airplanes and flight crews out of position in dozens of locations. And after days of trying to operate as much of our full schedule across the busy holiday weekend, we reached a decision point to significantly reduce our flying to catch up,” Jordan said.
“The tools we use to recover from disruption serve us well, 99 percent of the time; but clearly, we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what’s happening right now,” he said.
Asked about a solution to the massive problem of travelers being separated from their luggage during the breakdown in service, Southwest responded in an email Wednesday afternoon that customers can contact Southwest to rebook or request a refund at Southwest.com/traveldisruption.
“Teams are finalizing a resource to provide additional assistance to customers with reuniting with lost or missing baggage. Customers can also speak with a representative at the baggage service office in an airport where we operate or contact Southwest customer service, though we are experiencing abnormally high call volumes,” Southwest said.
“We’re using every available tool to reconnect customers with their missing bags including sending bags on flights and using shipping vendors. Teams across the country are working to identify bags and get them to their destinations as quickly as possible,” Southwest said.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his department would investigate Southwest’s handling of the cancellations, according to the Washington Post. He called for airlines to temporarily cap fares on routes affected by Southwest cancellations to limit the financial burden on Southwest passengers.
“What we’re seeing is something beyond what can be attributed to the weather,” he told ABC News regarding Southwest’s predicament.
This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Southwest Airlines cancellation meltdown shows no sign of letup at South Florida airports."
