Hundreds of Southwest Airlines customers stranded due to delays

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Delays have caused customers of Southwest airlines to be stranded at airports.

Saturday, the company released a statement on Twitter saying that "ATC issues and disruptive weather" are behind the cancelations.

However, Henry H. Harteveldt, president and travel industry analyst at The Atmosphere Research Group, based in San Francisco, points to other causes for the cancellations.

First, he says Southwest has scheduled more flights than it can handle, a problem that started in June. He also noted that Southwest operates what’s known as a point-to-point route network, and when a delay occurs, it “cascades” along the remaining flight segments. That’s because, for example, a Southwest flight departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the airline’s home base of Dallas may make multiple stops along the way.

ATC issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation. We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/o1scQJ5lLb
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) October 9, 2021

But Harteveldt says the most troubling reason is the likelihood that some pilots who oppose Southwest’s decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations are participating in an illegal job action where they call in sick or are engaging in a “work slowdown.”

In a statement Saturday, the airline’s pilot union, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said that’s not the case.

“SWAPA is aware of operational difficulties affecting Southwest Airlines today due to a number of issues, but we can say with confidence that our pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions,” it said.

Some travelers were stranded in Chicago, waiting for flights into Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. One of them told WDRB the airline added a flight Sunday morning.

Another man said he drove to Chicago from Louisville Saturday night to pick up family members. They said they boarded the plane before being told they had to get off.

In Louisville, 12 Southwest flights had been canceled as of 5:30 p.m., according to FlightAware.

A spokesperson for the Louisville airport tells WDRB News the airport is unable to say why the cancellations happened as Airport Authority is not directly involved with flight delays or cancellations. The spokesperson says those decisions lie solely with the airlines.

The airline canceled more than 1,000 flights, or 28% of its schedule, as of 2 p.m. ET Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. That was the highest rate by far of the major U.S. airlines. Next in line were Allegiant and Spirit, which had respectively canceled 5% and 4% of their flights on Sunday, according to the flight tracker. American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights.