3,900 Flights Cancelled in US Amid Severe Winter, Passengers Stranded as Southwest Airlines Call off Most Flights

More than 3,900 flights in the United States have been cancelled on Monday and more than 8,000 flights had been delayed amid severe winter weather.

However, Southwest Airlines has been the worst affected as it cancelled more than 70% of its flights on Monday. None of the other US carriers have cancelled as many flights or as much of their schedule as Southwest, CNN reported.

The report said that the Southwest cancelled around 2,900 flights as of 10:10 pm on Monday. The airline cancelled around 300 flights in the span of a half hour on Monday afternoon.

Southwest Airlines blamed the widespread disruption on recent “extreme winter weather,” saying snow and cold temperatures last week forced changes to flight schedules “at a volume and magnitude” still having repercussions Monday.

On social media, travellers across the US complained about the cancellations, many adding the hashtag #southwestStoleChristmas.

Customers blamed the airline for poor management while others were furious over the cancellation.

The flight disruptions are likely to continue on Tuesday. Over 2,400 Southwest flights, scheduled for Tuesday, were cancelled as of 10:00 pm on Monday. Moreover, 2,600 flights were cancelled for all US airlines for Tuesday.

The US airlines have cancelled over 17,000 flights since Wednesday last week as storms brought snow, ice, high winds and bitter cold across the country, disrupting air travel from coast to coast.

Those conditions slowed down crews as they faced severe conditions at airports.

The US Department of Transportation said it is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays and added that it will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.

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