Why Did Southwest Cancel Thousands Of Flights? Here’s What Happened.

In a video message on Tuesday, Southwest’s chief executive, Bob Jordan, likened the airline’s route model to a “giant puzzle” that relies on airplanes and crews remaining in motion.

Because Southwest is the largest airline in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the United States, when the severe weather led to many canceled flights, it resulted in airplanes and crew members being out of position in dozens of cities, he said.

The airline, he said, was “focused on safely getting all the pieces back into position to end this rolling struggle.”

Tech problems also hurt

Airline scheduling is a “very intricate system” that must take into account union rules, federal regulations and airline policies when assigning crews and pilots to flights, said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and spokeswoman for FlightAware.

Southwest’s system, however, couldn’t keep track of where its crew members and pilots were after so many flights were canceled, Mr. Arnot said.

Pilots and crew members looking for their next assignment waited hours — nine hours in one case — to speak to staff members at Southwest’s overwhelmed operations center, said Casey A. Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, the union that represents the almost 10,000 Southwest pilots. With nowhere to go, hundreds of pilots and crew members slept in airports next to passengers and luggage, he said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/28/travel/southwest-airlines-flight-cancellations.html