Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said his department will investigate Southwest Airlines‘ scheduling system after thousands of flights were cancelled, infuriating passengers across the country.
Southwest cancelled 70% of its flights on Monday and Tuesday as it works to recover from severe winter weather and staffing issues.
According to flight tracking website FlightAware, Southwest cancelled over 2,800 flights on Monday, the day after Christmas, and around 2,600 on Tuesday.
The airline has stated that it will only operate approximately one-third of its schedule, or approximately 1,500 flights, for several days as it attempts to move crews into position.
“I truly apologize,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in a video statement released Tuesday. He stated that a “massive effort to stabilize the airline” is currently underway.
Jordan stated that Southwest’s network is complex and relies on aircraft and flight crews remaining in motion and that cities with a high volume of flights at the same time froze.
Southwest had to cut flights to catch up, he explained.
Other airlines appear to have recovered from the severe winter weather that had 200 million people under winter alerts or warnings as the holiday weekend approached.
Southwest Airlines Pilots Association President Casey Murray stated that the airline had not adequately prepared flights for the storm. Large swaths of Southwest crews are still negotiating contracts with the carrier.
Jordan stated that the tools used to recover from disruptions will change.
“Clearly, we need to double-down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances, so that we never again face what’s happening right now,” he added.
Buttigieg stated that Southwest has promised to assist impacted customers and that the Transportation Department will hold the airline accountable for this.
“At a minimum, there need to be cash refunds for the cancelled flights, and they need to be taking care of passengers where they got stuck — with meals, with hotels compensation,” Buttigieg claimed.
Buttigieg stated that Southwest has promised to assist impacted customers and that the Transportation Department will hold the airline accountable for this.
