First published in the Dec. 31 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
By City News Service
Southwest Airlines issued an apology this week for nationwide flight cancellations that snarled holiday travel at Southern California airports and promised normal operations would return with “minimal disruptions” Dec. 30.
At Hollywood Burbank Airport, 82 inbound and outbound Southwest flights were scrubbed Wednesday, Dec. 29. Stranded passengers were left with few alternatives, with the Southwest Airlines’ website listing all flights departing from Southern California airports as “unavailable” through Saturday, Dec. 31.
Southwest officials said the airline is currently operating roughly one-third of its schedule. More than 2,500 flights have been canceled, leaving travelers stranded in cities across the country.
“We are encouraged by the progress we’ve made to realign crew, their schedules and our fleet,” according to a statement from Southwest.
“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 airline has set up a page ― Southwest.com/traveldisruption ― for customers to submit refund and reimbursement requests for meals, hotel and alternate transportation, as well as to connect customers to their baggage.
“We have much work ahead of us, including investing in new solutions to manage wide-scale disruptions,” airline officials said.
Long lines greeted travelers at airports in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties on Thursday, with anxious travelers looking for flights on other airlines. Several turned to rental car companies for transportation to their destinations. Some were left waiting on hold for hours waiting for assistance and were sleeping on airport floors.
Meanwhile, thousands of passengers and their luggage remained in limbo in Southern California and across the nation as Southwest Airlines continued to cancel the majority of its flights as it worked to recover from a failure in its scheduling systems, combined with a devastating winter storm.
The airline has been operating about one-third of usual flight volume as it worked to reset its systems and reposition its aircraft and flight crews, many of which were left out of position as the weather and computer failures combined to devastate Southwest’s operations.
That led to mass cancellations of flights in Southern California and beyond, leaving many passengers stranded, unable to reach their destinations and often unable to even locate their checked luggage.
The airline previously issued an apology to stranded holiday travelers, stating that its operational challenges stem from last week’s historic winter storm.
“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable,” according to the Southwest statement.
“We’re working with safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning crews and our fleet ultimately to best serve all who plan to travel with us.”
In a video posted online Tuesday, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said that cadence would continue through the week as it works to reposition its crews and airplanes. “We’re doing everything we can to return to a normal operation,” he said.
“Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes, and we’re making headway and we’re optimistic of being back on track before next week.”
Jordan again blamed the “bitter cold” for the problems, but also acknowledged that the airline needs to make improvements in its scheduling systems “so that we never again face what’s happening right now.”
Officials with the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a statement calling the Southwest situation “unacceptable.”
“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays and reports of lack of prompt customer service,” the department stated. “The department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”
Jordan said in his video that he has reached out to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to discuss the steps the airline has taken to rectify the issues.
Southwest Airlines said it was fully staffed late last week and prepared for the approaching Christmas weekend when severe weather swept across the continent.
“On the other side of this, we’ll work to make things right for those we’ve let down, including our employees,” the airline stated.
