DALLAS — Some travelers may ring in the new year somewhere different than they planned after Southwest Airlines’ holiday season meltdown has prevented passengers from rebooking their cancelled flights until 2023.
Multiple news outlets reported stranded Southwest customers throughout the country seemingly can’t rebook their flights until this weekend — or later.
The airlines’ move to cancel most of its flights in the coming days is being done in an attempt to “reset” operations, according to an internal message sent late Monday. Not selling tickets or rebooking customers on flights in the next few days also prevents them from having another canceled flight.
On the Southwest app, travelers with canceled flights received a message saying “The selected reservation is eligible for a free change. Please go to the reservation details to begin that flow.” However, once they began looking at flight options, the majority of the flights through the end of the year were marked as “unavailable.”
A customer is only able to rebook his or her canceled flight once with no fees, according to a separate message on the app.
“To minimize your inconvenience, we are offering the one time opportunity to change your flight date(s) and/or time(s) at no additional cost in accordance with our established reaccommodation practices,” it reads.
As of Tuesday midmorning, more than 200, about 51% of Southwest’s flights out of Dallas Love Field Airport, were canceled, according to FlightAware. On Monday, 74% (just less than 300) of Southwest flights out DAL were also canceled.
Disruptions in flights began for all airlines in the days leading up to Christmas as major winter weather swept through the United States. But most of, if not all, other airlines have been able to return to normal operations besides Southwest, according to flight data.
In comparison, 31 flights were canceled Monday at all of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, an American Airlines hub. Southwest does not operate out of DFW, although The Dallas Morning News reported it could expand to the airport in 2025.
Those looking the dump Southwest completely and travel before 2023 using a different airline or mode of transportation were also met with difficulty as prices for airline tickets before New Year’s Eve rose and the availability of seats on planes, trains, and in rental cars during the same time frame declined.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday night that it will investigate how Southwest is handling the cancellations, delays and responding to customers.
“It’s been complete and utter chaos,” Lyn Montgomery, president of the TWU Local 556 union representing Southwest flight attendants, said Monday.
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