By Phil Helsel -
NBC News
On the travel-heavy day after Christmas, Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,800 flights, or 70% of its schedule, frustrating passengers across the country.
And the company plans reductions for days as it works to recover from winter weather, flying only a third of its planes, the company said Monday.
“Our sincere apologies for this have only just begun,” Southwest said in a statement Monday.
[New York residents urged to stay indoors to shelter from winter storm]
Photos and videos posted on social media showed stacked suitcases, and federal transportation officials called the cancellations unacceptable.
“I am very angry because I see bad management,” Ihore Konrad told NBC Chicago.
He had been stranded at the airport for two days due to cancellations, according to the station.
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According to the FlightAware flight tracking website, about 3,900 flights within the United States, originating or ending in the country, were canceled Monday.
Southwest had 2,893 flights canceled at some point on Monday, about 70% of its schedule, according to the platform.
Delta had about 300 and United about 130.
Southwest blamed "operational problems" that followed days of bad winter weather across most of the country.
[The winter storm brings cold and even snow to the capital of Mexico]
And Southwest's troubles aren't over.
The airline plans to fly a third of its planes — or about 1,500 flights — over the next few days so it can reposition flight crews that are out of position, according to the company.
“On the other hand, we will work to make things right for those we have let down, including our employees,” the company said in a statement.
Baggage to be claimed after canceled flights at the Southwest Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, California, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. Eugene Garcia / AP
The bags piled up at Denver International Airport and Chicago Midway Airport on Monday, video showed.
Southwest said it was inundated with calls and messages and asked for patience.
The company's CEO, Bob Jordan, also told The Wall Street Journal that they plan to operate just over a third of their normal hours on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Today we have had a difficult day.
In all likelihood we will have another hard day tomorrow as we work our way out of this," Jordan told the newspaper.
Much of the continental United States, which at one point covered more than 200 million people, was under winter weather advisories or alerts ahead of the holiday weekend, with very low temperatures and ice.
According to FlightAware, more than 8,200 flights to, from or within the United States were canceled on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
[Extreme weather leaves at least 55 dead in the US. How much longer will the vicious winter storm last?]
The Southwest flight problem also drew the attention of the Transportation Department, which called the airline's performance unacceptable.
“USDOT is concerned about Southwest Airlines' disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays, as well as the inability to adequately support customers who experience a cancellation or delay,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.
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"As more information becomes available, the Department will carefully review whether the cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan, as well as all other applicable DOT regulations," the statement said.
Southwest claimed that it had the necessary staff in place before the holidays, but bad weather greatly affected its plans.
[They sleep outdoors or in shelters, but their biggest pain is being away from family at Christmas]
“These operating conditions forced us to make daily changes to our flight schedule in a volume and magnitude that still has the tools that our teams use to recover the airline operating at its capacity,” the company announced.
The day after Christmas is typically one of the busiest days of the year for travelers, although the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said last week that it expected December 22 and 30 to be the busiest this year.
More than two million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints on Friday, and on Sunday the number was 1.7 million, according to the TSA website.
Monday's figures have not yet been published online.
[The ravages of the winter storm will be felt one more day in various parts of the country]
At Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina, what was supposed to be a flight turned into long road trips: After Southwest flights were cancelled, passengers were given the option of traveling by bus, NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh reported.
"I can't do anything but sit on this bus to go home," passenger Eric Ford told the station.
