By Dennis Romero and Phil Helsel —
NBC News
Southwest Airlines, which canceled thousands of flights last week leaving many passengers stranded at airports after the Christmas holidays, said Tuesday it is processing refunds to those affected, while dozens of new flights have been canceled or rescheduled.
Multiple users claimed on Twitter on Tuesday that airline employees told them that the planes could not take off because the weather system was not working or because they lacked the necessary weather information to fly.
The reports of delays on Tuesday came just days after the airline said it had resumed normal operations after the holiday chaos.
Southwest said in a statement issued late Tuesday that third-party provider IBM "experienced a brief outage in its service that provides navigation coordinates before Southwest dispatches flights."
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The airline added that "only minor delays" were expected for the rest of the afternoon.
"We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate everyone's patience as we work to get customers to their destinations safely and as quickly as possible," the statement said.
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The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment, saying it was a matter for the airline.
IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Wednesday.
Flight-tracking website FlightAware recorded 140 Southwest flight cancellations — 3% of those scheduled — and some 1,617 delays on Tuesday.
There were 41 cancellations and 507 delays on Wednesday, according to the website.
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The latest delays came after the Dallas-based airline, which canceled two-thirds of its daily flights for most of the week leading up to the New Year, said Friday that normal operations had resumed.
All airlines were affected by a severe winter storm that affected most of the US over Christmas weekend, but other carriers recovered sooner.
Southwest canceled thousands of flights, stranding passengers and their luggage and sparking what has been called a meltdown that infuriated travelers.
The US Department of Transportation called it "unacceptable" and vowed to demand answers from Southwest.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the chaos was due to a failure of Southwest's systems.
Southwest's chief executive has promised technology investments that he said are already underway.
Travelers line up at Southwest Airlines check-in counters at Denver International Airport, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. David Zalubowski / AP
On Tuesday, the airline said in a statement that it was working to win back the trust of its customers.
Southwest said it had made "solid progress" to rectify problems caused to passengers, including processing refund requests and returning lost baggage.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that "Southwest Airlines failed its customers, utterly," adding that customers must be reimbursed and their bags turned in.
“The Department of Transportation is watching.
They are watching this very, very closely to make sure all of this happens and will fine Southwest if it doesn't cover the costs,” added Jean-Pierre.
