Southwest Reports Reimbursement Progress After Holiday Chaos, But Sees More Delays

Southwest Airlines, which canceled thousands of flights last week and angered passengers, said on Tuesday it had made “significant progress” in processing refunds even as another issue caused new travel problems.

Some people tweeted Tuesday what the crews said them the planes could not take off because the weather system was not working or they did not have the necessary weather information.

Reports of delays on Tuesday came just days after the airline said it had resumed normal operations following the chaos of holiday travel.

Travelers line up at the Southwest Airlines check-in counters at Denver International Airport.
Travelers line up at the check-in counters of Southwest Airlines at Denver International Airport on December 30, 2022.David Zalubowski / AP

Southwest said in a statement late Tuesday that a third-party vendor, IBM, “experienced a brief outage in its service, which provides weather data prior to the departure of Southwest flights.”

The airline said that “only minor delays” are expected before the end of the evening.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and thank everyone for your patience as we work to get customers to their destination safely and as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

The Federal Aviation Administration declined to comment, saying it was the airline’s business.

In a statement Wednesday, IBM said it “experienced a limited disruption to Southwest Airlines service and has worked in partnership with Southwest to restore that service as quickly as possible.”

Flight tracking website FlightAware showed 138 Southwest cancellations — or 3% — and about 1,560 delays on Tuesday. According to the website, there were 24 Southwest cancellations and 115 delays on Wednesday.

The latest delays come after the Dallas-based airline, which canceled two-thirds of its daily flights for much of the New Year’s week, said on Friday that normal operations had resumed.

All carriers were hit by a severe winter storm that affected much of the US ahead of the Christmas weekend, but other carriers have recovered.

Southwest canceled thousands of flights, leaving passengers and their luggage stranded in what has been called a crash that infuriated travelers.

The US Department of Transportation called it “unacceptable” and vowed to hold Southwest accountable. Transportation Minister Pete Buttigieg said the crash was due to a failure of Southwest’s systems.

Southwest’s CEO has pledged to invest in technologies that he says are already underway.

Earlier Tuesday, the airline said in a statement that it was working to win back the trust of its customers. Southwest said it has made “significant progress” in resolving the issues passengers have experienced, including processing refund requests and reuniting travelers with their lost luggage.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday that “Southwest Airlines let its customers down – point-blank.”

She said clients should be reimbursed and reunited with their luggage.

“The Department of Transportation is watching. They are watching this very, very closely to make sure it all happens and will seek fines from Southwest if it doesn’t cover the costs,” Jean-Pierre said.

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