Southwest cancels or delays over 1,000 flights so far this weekend, with more expected
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Southwest Airlines finds itself in a tough spot once again this weekend as it canceled hundreds of flights yesterday and today and delayed well over 1,000 more due to weather, according to the airline.
The airline canceled or delayed the equivalent of 45% of its schedule Friday, and it’s logged another 281 cancellations and 462 delays as of publication time today. It’s likely there will be more to come as the day goes on.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
TPG reached out to Southwest for comment on the reason behind these irregular operations and received the following statement:
“We are proactively canceling more than 150 flights today, from our schedule of more than 3,200 flights slated for Saturday, due to widespread thunderstorms expected across parts of the nation, including areas such as DEN, MCO, MDW, and STL. These proactive cancellations will allow us to minimize delays and diversions due to the storms and probable ATC initiatives.”
It’s no secret that airlines have also been struggling in recent days and weeks with labor shortages in conjunction with a rapid rise in demand for flights. Just this week, American Airlines shared that it would be canceling about 1% of its flight schedule in July, blaming it on weather and the ongoing labor shortage in the industry.
And Southwest itself has struggled recently with operations, suffering two total system outages in 24 hours, leading to widespread cancellations and delays.
Whatever factors contributed to the setbacks, cancellations and delays have understandably led to frustrated flyers, many of whom have taken to Twitter to voice their complaints about not being able to get a hold of the airline’s customer service department or being offered flights that would get them to their destinations multiple days later than originally planned.
The best thing you can do if you’re flying Southwest this weekend is to proactively check the status of your flights. If you start noticing delays — or happen to be on a flight that gets canceled — use the airline’s mobile app to attempt to rebook yourself on a new flight as soon as you can.
Featured image by Zach Griff/The Points Guy
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3X points on dining and 2x points on travel, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.