According to the latest figures, Southwest Airlines has canceled over 2,400 flights for Tuesday. The bad news comes after Southwest canceled over 2,900 flights on Monday, and this could be just the beginning for the airline's troubles, with several reports saying Southwest doesn't expect to resume a normal schedule until December 31.
Southwest management told the Wall Street Journal that it was "rebalancing the airline" and that it was "full staffed" in the lead up to Christmas. The airline said the fault was bad weather but didn't explain why it was the airline with the most canceled flights.
Southwest told the Journal that they were fully staffed and ready for the upcoming holiday weekend.
Southwest's phone system was overwhelmed by crew members who called to get re-scheduling for canceled flights. Southwest didn't have enough staff to answer the phones and rebook both pilots and flight attendants as their flights were canceled.
With so many cancelations over a busy holiday period, the horror stories on social media are simply too many to count.
Southwest workers have called in sick over the holidays according to an internal company memo that was leaked to social media. Southwest management in Denver has reportedly demanded that workers who have called out sick get a doctor's note in person, suggesting they think people are abusing the system.
According to the New York Times, the US is still seeing over 60,000 new cases of the disease every day. The death toll from covid-19 is equivalent to a 9/11 terrorist attack every ten days.
Covid-19 is not the only one. The flu and other respiratory illnesses have been on the rise this winter. There is serious concern that the infections are spreading quickly.
Southwest has an unacceptable rate of cancellation, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of transportation.
If Southwest is complying with its customer service plan, the Department will look at whether cancellation were controllable.
Good luck getting a flight on the airline if you rebook between now and January 2, but Southwest will waive rebooking fees.
If you hold a Southwest reservation from Sunday, December 25 through Monday, January 2, you can rebook in the original class of service for free.
Good fortune if you are flying Southwest this week.
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