Southwest cancels more than 700 flights, blaming weather

Flight cancellations across the country continue to cause headaches for thousands of travelers, and Southwest is topping the list of most-affected airlines for the second consecutive day. But the source and scope of these disruptions are different from the meltdown the airline endured a year ago. As of Monday afternoon, the airline had canceled more than 700 flights, about 18% of its schedule, setting off alarm bells that the nightmarish travel weekend could be the start of another operational fiasco for the company. But, according to the airline, this isn’t a technology issue like the 10-day service meltdown that left more than 2m travelers stranded during the 2022 holiday season and cost the company more than a billion dollars. The problem is the weather. A huge swath of the country has been pummeled with harsh winter conditions this weekend, and more than 140m people are currently under wind chill alerts stretching from the Rockies to central Texas. Over 140 daily cold records could be broken Monday and Tuesday from Oregon to Mississippi, and temperatures in Memphis, Dallas and Nashville are expected to stay below freezing for at least 72 consecutive hours.<br/>