Southwest Airlines customers stranded at Logan Airport as airline cancels dozens of flights
BOSTON -- The Department of Transportation is looking into why hundreds of Southwest Airlines passengers were suddenly left stranded Monday and Tuesday.
Southwest canceled 69% of their flights nationwide Monday and more were canceled Tuesday morning. The chaos left some people stranded at Logan Airport and others scrambling to get on other flights.
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According to Flight Aware, 29 of the 43 cancellations at Logan Tuesday were Southwest flights. Some passengers said they're able to rebook but can only get flights on January 1 or 2.
"There are zero flights available online. I've been on hold for an hour and a half trying to get to a Southwest agent. Now I have to go stand in line. I just got a text message that my 5 a.m. flight from Boston to Chicago was canceled. And it was on time this morning. So, I'm thinking we're just going to go back home," passenger Kent Hansen told WBZ-TV Tuesday.
"Trying to get to Little Rock, and flight just got canceled with Southwest. Now I am just like, 'When am I going to get there?' questioned Victor Cruz, a member of the U.S. Air Force working in intel gathering. "I need to report by (Tuesday). The whole leadership is waiting for me. It has been a mess."
Azikiwe Chandler is a Southwest passenger who just got in from Costa Rica. He was supposed to travel to Baltimore with his daughter, so she could see her younger sister. Now the pair is stuck in Boston until Wednesday. He said Southwest gave them a voucher for a place to stay Monday night, but they will have to come back on Tuesday if they hope to get another night for free.
"As I was making my way to the gate, I saw the phone, and it said flight canceled. There was no notification before that," explains Chandler, "[The customer service representative at the gate] said there were no flights until Friday. She starts school on Monday."
In a statement, Southwest said the geography of where the airline flies became uniquely vulnerable to recent winter weather. They also blamed a lack of technology.
USDOT is concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) December 27, 2022
The Department of Transportation is trying to find out if the cancellations were controllable or if they violate the company's service plan.