Recent winter storms have decimated holiday travel. Various airlines- including Harry Reid International, Chicago Midway, Denver International, China Eastern, and JetBlue- have struggled to meet the rising demand to visit relatives and friends during the Christmas season. Among the airlines, Southwest has been affected most significantly. Over 2,900 of its flights were canceled on the previous Monday alone, which constituted approximately 70% of its scheduled departures that day. Additionally, more than 2,500 flights were canceled just the next day, according to FlightAware (NPR). The disastrous lack of flights has rendered thousands of people stranded at airports located around the country.
Delta Airlines experienced the second-highest rate of cancellations in the United States. It postponed approximately 265 flights on Monday. Although this was over 10 times less than Southwest, the consequences were still considerably large-scale. Mountains of luggage have been piling up at baggage claim. The lines leading up to reservation counters seem to stretch for miles, and customer service quality has also declined, with the hold times for phone lines averaging 2 to 4 hours.
Chris Perry, the spokesperson for Southwest, blamed the flight disruptions on the winter storm’s effects. The inclement weather has caused a lack of clear skies, resulting in difficulty for pilots to navigate. The U.S. Department of Transportation has deemed the delays, cancellations, and customer service response “unacceptable.”
Winter Storm Elliot is mainly responsible for the delays. The severe weather conditions have destroyed airport infrastructure and caused equipment to freeze. Nationally, 18,068 flights have been delayed in the past Monday alone, as well as 5,000 cancellations. 7,143 of the delays involved flights into, out, or inside the United States. Amid a violent winter storm, a total of 2,300 flights were canceled on Christmas day.
Sources:
Ahn, Ashley. “Southwest Cancels 5,400 Flights in Less than 48 Hours in a ‘Full-Blown Meltdown’.” NPR, NPR, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/12/26/1145536902/southwest-flight-cancellations-winter-storm.
Wehner, Greg. “Airlines Scramble after Winter Storm Cancels and Delays Thousands of Flights.” Fox Business, Fox Business, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/airlines-scramble-after-winter-storm-cancels-delays-thousands-flights.
Weinstein, Janete. “Winter Storm Causes Major Flight Delays, Cancellations at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.” KRNV, KRNV, 27 Dec. 2022, https://mynews4.com/news/local/winter-storm-causes-major-flight-delays-cancellations-at-reno-tahoe-international-airport-winter-storm-elliot-travel-planes-winds-snow-storm-national-weather-service-reno-nws-paws-for-passengers-travelers-.
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