Southwest Airlines has pledged all is well and a full “return to normal operations” will begin Friday, drawing to a close a week of chaos for the embattled carrier.
The problems continued ahead of the promised turnaround of fortunes into late Thursday, with about 2,500 flights canceled by the Dallas-based airline.
Southwest cancellations made up about 96 percent of all of Thursday’s domestic cancellations, UPI reports. Friday’s schedule looks much calmer – for now – with just one percent of Southwest flights nixed as of Thursday afternoon.
“We are encouraged by the progress we’ve made to realign Crew, their schedules, and our fleet,” Southwest said in an update Thursday.
“With another holiday weekend full of important connections for our valued Customers and Employees, we are eager to return to a state of normalcy. We know even our deepest apologies — to our Customers, to our Employees, and to all affected through this disruption — only go so far.”
The low-cost airline – the largest carrier in the U.S. – had cancelled more than 10,000 flights since a winter storm first struck last week.
It twice apologised, but faced deep criticism from stranded travellers.
Southwest has since opened a portal for requesting a refund on flights canceled between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2.
Also, travelers who experienced flight disruptions may book a new flight within 30 days of their original travel date in the same class without additional charges.
The Southwest Airlines chaos has not been confined to the gate. Baggage claim carousels are inundated with piles of unclaimed luggage, leaving lines of people in the hundreds waiting to sift for their belongings,” Axios reports.
Baggage waits to be claimed after canceled flights at the Southwest Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Dec. 26, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
Hundreds of pieces of luggage await to be claimed by its owners at the Southwest Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Jim Ruymen/UPI)
Unions and analysts say a variety of factors led to the cancellations, including the airline’s “point-to-point” system for how it designs its routes, which they say can leave it vulnerable to staffing issues when it comes to delays.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reportedly spoke with the airline’s CEO, Bob Jordan, as the chaos unfolded and the department said it is working with Southwest “to make sure the airline does not allow a situation like this to happen again,” as Breitbart News reported.