The recent weather has affected several airline operators across the country, resulting in over 2,900 flights canceled by U.S. airlines nationwide.
Southwest Airlines canceled around six hundred flights scheduled for Monday following the bad weather that rocked major ports for the airline in Baltimore.
In all, the Dallas-based airline outfit canceled about sixteen percent of its scheduled flights for Monday, while another 857 flights were delayed.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Southwest canceled around 400 flights scheduled for Sunday, and the airline’s representatives stated they were working to accommodate customers affected by the cancellation.
The latest batch of cancellations now brings Southwest’s canceled flight total to over 1,400 since Saturday.
According to a report from The Dallas Morning News, Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Alyssa Foster said the airline’s planners were working to anticipate operational challenges on Monday, following the winter storm that moved across the country over the weekend and created heavy winter weather in the Baltimore/D.C. area.
“Canceling hundreds of flights causes disruption across our operational system,” Foster said. “A displacement of aircraft and employees of that magnitude brings other issues, including staffing challenges.”
According to The Dallas Morning News, airlines all over the country have collectively canceled around 18,000 flights since Christmas Eve, with over 67,500 passengers affected by the cancellations.
Southwest’s counterpart, Fort Worth-based American Airlines, canceled 166 flights Monday.
American Airlines spokeswoman Gianna Urgo said the weather is impacting flights in and out of Washington, D.C., and other flight sequences for the airline’s crews.
“The vast majority of impacted flights were pre-canceled yesterday so we could proactively notify and accommodate our customers and avoid last-minute disruptions at the airport,” Urgo said in a statement, according to The DMN.
