Dec. 27 (UPI) — The Biden administration plans to investigate Southwest Airlines flight cancelations that left passengers stranded amid a historic winter weather system to start the week.
According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, Southwest had already canceled 62% of its flights Tuesday morning, totaling 2,512. On Monday, Southwest canceled 2,909 flights, stranding passengers from around the country.
The Department of Transportation said Monday it would investigate the cancelations by Southwest which greatly exceeded those of other airlines.
“USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancelations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service,” the department said in a Twitter post on Monday. “The department will examine whether cancelations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”
In comparison in responding to the inclement weather conditions Monday, Delta had the next highest cancelations among American carriers with 275, or 9% of its scheduled flights.
Southwest said the winter storm and staff issues drove the high rate of cancelations.
“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable,” Southwest said in a statement Monday. “And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.
“We’re working with safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning crews and our fleet ultimately to best serve all who plan to travel with us.”
Southwest said it operates in 23 of the 25 largest U.S. travel markets, so the weather affected it more than any other airline by forcing operational challenges and flight challenges.
“As we continue the work to recover our operation, we have made the decision to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one-third of our schedule for the next several days. We’re working to reach customers whose travel plans will change to offer specific information and available options.”
Southwest spokesperson Chris Perry told CBS News that “abnormally high” traffic to its online booking site and check-in systems have slowed the process of rebooking, but union officials said the airline had long neglected to install available technology that would prevent such snarls.
“The lack of technology has left the airline relying on manual solutions and personal phone calls, leaving flight attendants on hold with Southwest Airlines for up to 17 hours at a time simply to be released to go home after their trip, or while attempting to secure a hotel room or know where their next trip will be,” said the flight attendants union, Transit Workers Union No. 556.