More Mass Cancellations as Southwest Struggles to Untangle Travel Meltdown

More than 2,300 of Southwest Airlines' flights were canceled on Thursday due to technical problems at the airline.

More than half of the airline's flights were canceled on Thursday, after other airlines had recovered from the storm. The operational and public relations crisis has put company officials on the defensive, hoping to stave off long-term damage to Southwest's reputation.

Ryan Green, Southwest's chief commercial officer, said in a video statement late Wednesday that the airline would do everything it could to repair its relationship with you.

After many plans changed and experiences fell short of expectations, he apologized.

During the busy travel days before Christmas, a winter storm disrupted all airlines. Southwest has a different organizational structure than most other airlines that makes it harder to recover from disruptions.

In an interview on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, Pete Buttigieg said, "We are past the point where they could say that this is a weather driven issue."

They need to make sure that the stranded passengers get to where they need to go and that they are given adequate compensation.

Customers were frustrated by the lack of progress or ability to contact customer service as officials worked to restore normal operations. They had to spend a lot of money to get tickets on other airlines or get a car for a road trip. She borrowed a car from her father for a 14-hour drive from St. Louis to Philadelphia, but wasn't sure how she'd get it back.

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Getting home for Christmas was held up by a series of mistakes.

After arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, they were told their flight had been canceled because of staffing shortages. They were rebooked for a flight that would take them to Baltimore for Christmas Day.

The flight was delayed several times when they arrived at the airport. It was canceled after 8 hours of delays.

She said that they spent all Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at the airport. It's a nightmare.

The couple received vouchers from Southwest to stay at a hotel that night, and booked a CarRentals.com car from the Baltimore airport that they planned to drive back to their home in Florida. The rental car wasn't available when they picked it up. Ms. Benitez's brother picked them up from Baltimore and dropped them off at the CarRentals in Virginia.

She said that she and her husband drove 12 hours back to Florida to open their gifts. Southwest gave us vouchers but they can't compensate for the loss of time or the Christmas spirit.