Southwest widespread cancellations disrupt weekend travel
Southwest canceled more than 1,000 flights on Sunday and just over 800 on Saturday, wreaking havoc on weekend travel plans for thousands of passengers. The airline had canceled 24% of all scheduled flights on Saturday, according to FlightAware, a tracking service. By noon on Sunday, Southwest had already canceled 28% of flights scheduled for the day, with hundreds more flights delayed. “We experienced weather challenges in our Florida airports at the beginning of the weekend, challenges that were compounded by unexpected air traffic control issues in the same region, triggering delays and prompting significant cancellations,” the airline said Sunday. “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.” Southwest added that recovering from the disruption was more difficult than usual because it is operating fewer flights than before the pandemic, complicating efforts to reschedule passengers. “We know the frustration flight cancellations are creating for our customers and employees and we apologize, and we again thank everyone for patience as we work first to be safe, and second to be as quick as possible in solving disrupted plans.” The FAA said in a statement on Sunday that it had briefly suffered an air traffic control staffing shortage, but that the issue had long since been resolved. “Flight delays and cancellations occurred for a few hours Friday afternoon due to widespread severe weather, military training and limited staffing in one area of the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center,” the agency said. “Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to aircraft and crews being out of place.” In a statement on Saturday, Southwest’s pilots union said it was aware of the widespread cancellations. The union last week objected to the airline’s recent announcement that it would mandate vaccination against the coronavirus, but said that the cancellations were not the result of any pilot protest.<br/>
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Southwest widespread cancellations disrupt weekend travel
Southwest canceled more than 1,000 flights on Sunday and just over 800 on Saturday, wreaking havoc on weekend travel plans for thousands of passengers. The airline had canceled 24% of all scheduled flights on Saturday, according to FlightAware, a tracking service. By noon on Sunday, Southwest had already canceled 28% of flights scheduled for the day, with hundreds more flights delayed. “We experienced weather challenges in our Florida airports at the beginning of the weekend, challenges that were compounded by unexpected air traffic control issues in the same region, triggering delays and prompting significant cancellations,” the airline said Sunday. “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.” Southwest added that recovering from the disruption was more difficult than usual because it is operating fewer flights than before the pandemic, complicating efforts to reschedule passengers. “We know the frustration flight cancellations are creating for our customers and employees and we apologize, and we again thank everyone for patience as we work first to be safe, and second to be as quick as possible in solving disrupted plans.” The FAA said in a statement on Sunday that it had briefly suffered an air traffic control staffing shortage, but that the issue had long since been resolved. “Flight delays and cancellations occurred for a few hours Friday afternoon due to widespread severe weather, military training and limited staffing in one area of the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center,” the agency said. “Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to aircraft and crews being out of place.” In a statement on Saturday, Southwest’s pilots union said it was aware of the widespread cancellations. The union last week objected to the airline’s recent announcement that it would mandate vaccination against the coronavirus, but said that the cancellations were not the result of any pilot protest.<br/>
