Hundreds of unclaimed bags at Midway Airport amid Southwest Airlines fiasco

CHICAGO (CBS) – There are still hundreds of unclaimed bags at Chicago's Midway International Airport.

Southwest Airlines staff are letting people in one by one to search for their lost luggage. We've even seen some flight attendants whose flights were canceled come in to help.

The most emotional reunions CBS 2's Noel Brennan saw at the airport on Wednesday were between people and their bags.

Patrick Keane finally made it to Chicago from Denver after two canceled Southwest flights and 17 hours at Denver International Airport.

He was one of the many still waiting on his bag at Midway on Wednesday.

"I fly Southwest a lot," Shawn Zavsza said. "I've never seen anything like this."

Passengers missing their bags bonded over shared Southwest horror stories.

"We're all friends right now," said Omar Maldonado. "We're all going through the same ordeal. We're all talking about our experiences here."

Some people were waiting in line at baggage claims said they've heard the apologies from Southwest and its CEO. They've heard the explanation about outdated IT and logistics challenges.

But passengers who spoke to CBS 2 said they cared more about getting paid back. Some said they've spent $1,500 just on hotels and food after canceled flights.

"The lack of communication, very disorganized, and more lines," said Maldonado.

Requests for reimbursement were piling up like the luggage.

For some like Keane, the travel nightmare is finally over, and he let the whole airport know how it felt.

"I just haven't had this bag in a week," he said. I've been wearing other peoples' clothes. I want to wear my wardrobe. It's New Years Eve week, and now I'm going to go out, and I'm going to party like it's 2023."

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said the meltdown was absolutely preventable and called for updates to things like crew scheduling software and better communication tools for everyone who works at Southwest.

On Wednesday night, Chicago Department of Aviation released updated information about the situation at Midway.

In:
• Midway International Airport
• Chicago
• Southwest Airlines