Southwest Airlines topped US airline cancellations on Tuesday as the low-cost airliner battled to rebound from severe winter weather that disrupted many holiday travel schedules.
FlightAware reports that Southwest has canceled 2,474 Wednesday flights, while Frontier Airlines has canceled just seven and Delta has canceled five.
Planes, Crews Stranded
The airline, which has its headquarters in Dallas, canceled 2,523 flights for Tuesday as of 9.42 am ET, sending its shares down 5.3% to $34.19 in early trading, according to Reuters. It had 30 times more cancellations than Spirit Airlines.
Southwest has canceled nearly 12,000 flights since Friday due to the cold blast and big winter storm called Elliott that blasted across most of the US in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday weekend.
Most of Southwest's revenue comes from domestic routes, and the company distinguishes itself from other major US airlines by providing service mostly between individual airports rather than via centralized hubs. Therefore, its employees are at risk of being stranded in the event of a disruption.
Southwest Airlines spokesman Jay McVay told reporters in Houston that cancellations piled up as storm systems moved throughout the nation, stranding flight crews and aircraft, according to AP News.
He noted that the primary focus of the company is to get back to normal operations soon while maintaining the highest standards of safety.
"And that's exactly how we ended up where we are today," Mc Vay added.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said the company will run little more than a third of its normal schedule to give employees time to return to their homes.
Southwest said on Monday that it would keep operating on a reduced schedule, flying around a third of its scheduled flights "over the next few days," although the airline denied providing additional comment on Tuesday. The American airliner had already canceled almost 5,000 flights scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Massive Flight Cancellations
FlightAware data shows that as of late Monday, more than 3,900 domestic and international flights had been canceled, and another 8,200 had been delayed. The Department of Transportation tweeted that it will investigate Southwest Airlines' activities.
According to the transportation department, it is "concerned" by Southwest's "unacceptable" cancellation and delay numbers and insufficient customer service, per Axios.
Moreover, the DOT will inquire "whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan."
Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, has also weighed in, saying he would have "more to say" regarding Southwest's cancellations on Tuesday, as per a report from The Hill.
USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
— U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
Even while Southwest is not the only airline affected by the storm's aftereffects, most other big carriers mostly have bounced back from the busy holiday weekend that was plagued by travel problems because of the extreme cold and snow.
As the year came to a close, US airlines were thrown into disarray by the festive storm, which coincided with a boom in passenger demand for air travel. This year's strong demand resulted in several cancellations and delays, particularly throughout the weekends of the summer holidays.
