Southwest airlines issued an apology Today for operational challenges which caused long flight delays and cancellations in response to Winter Storm Elliott.
The airline said it is working with “Safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning Crews,” along with its fleet.
“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network
behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a
a significant way that is unacceptable,'' Southwest said in a news release
Monday.
Southwest canceled more than 2,700 flights Monday, close to two-thirds of its scheduled total, according to the tracking website FlightAware.
The airline said it was fully staffed late last week and prepared for the approaching Christmas weekend when severe weather swept across the continent.
“This forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity,'' Southwest said. “This safety-first work is
intentional, ongoing, and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences.''
Southwest Airlines said it anticipates additional changes “with an already reduced level of flights as we approach the coming New Year holiday travel period. And we’re working to reach Customers whose travel plans will change with specific information and their available options.”.
The airline also expressed gratitude for its crews and employees scheduled to work this holiday season who “are showing up in every single way”.
