
The long weekend got a bit longer for Southwest customers after the airline canceled more than 2,000 flights Friday through Sunday.
The world’s largest low-cost carrier canceled three of every 10 departures it had scheduled on Sunday and the disruption continued into Monday, a federal holiday, with 337 flights — or about one in 10 — canceled so far, according to the aviation tracking website FlightAware.
The company blamed the cancellations on air traffic control problems and limited staffing in Florida as well as bad weather. It told CNN late Sunday that getting operations back to normal was “more difficult and prolonged” because of schedule and staffing reductions made during the pandemic.
“We’ve continued diligent work throughout the weekend to reset our operation with a focus on getting aircraft and crews repositioned to take care of our customers,” the airline said in a statement.
With Southwest Airlines canceling a thousand flights this past holiday weekend, Nikki Medoro shares her harried experience trying to get home from Cabo on Southwest.
If you are ever caught in a situation in which you are suffering, the only thing that will ever make you feel better is knowing other people are suffering with you.
Listen to Nikki Medoro’s challenging story below.