A “once in a lifetime storm” is creating havoc for holiday travelers.
Over 2,700 Southwest flights were canceled as of Monday night, according to FlightAware. Of those flights, approximately 295 cancellations were at Dallas Love Field, Southwest’s main hub.
Southwest said it was “experiencing disruptions across our network” due to the wintry weather across the country, according to ABC 8.
The airline has since said the weather is more favorable and is working to stabilize and improve its operation.
“We are re-accommodating as many customers as possible, based on available space, whose itineraries have been disrupted,” Southwest said in a statement.
The airline said passengers of flights that have been canceled may request a full refund or receive a flight credit, which does not expire. Over 70% of flights Southwest flights were canceled on Monday.
Southwest was the airline hit hardest by the winter storm.
“You’ve got a combination of weather, crews out of position,” said Steve Cosgrove, the CEO of Dynamic Travel.
“Southwest runs a very tight schedule. They turn a plane in 20 minutes. You start getting planes and crews out of place, it’s tough to get them back in place. Northeast and the central with weather, they had fog in San Diego, weather in Seattle, weather hitting Denver. These are major operations,” said Cosgrove.
Disruptions were chaotic for Southwest, which was forced to delay or cancel flights due to weather and the recent shortage of pilots and staff.
“They [pilots] eventually get to a point where they get timed out. They worked their 16-hour duty day. The FAA mandates their rest periods,” said Cosgrove.
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), American Airlines’ largest hub, fared markedly better, with just 31 flights canceled across the airport.
Across the board, over 5,800 flights were canceled on Monday, at last check, according to FlightAware.
Nearly 21,500 flights were delayed worldwide.