Southwest plans return to normal operations after a week of chaos
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — After thousands of cancelled flights, out-of-place luggage, and frustrated customers, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced Thursday it plans to return to normal operations with minimal disruptions Friday.
An airline news release said, "We are encouraged by the progress we've made to realign Crew, their schedules, and our fleet. With another holiday weekend full of important connections for our valued Customers and Employees, we are eager to return to a state of normalcy."
Since Tuesday, Southwest has operated a reduced flight schedule so it could move its planes, pilots, and flight attendants to their proper places.
On Thursday, Flightaware said Southwest had cancelled around 2,360 flights or about 57% of its schedule.
The airline has said during the holiday season, it normally operates about 4,000 flights.
We reached out to the unions representing the airline's pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, and ground crews seeking comment about the pending return to normal operations, but we didn't hear back.
The website showed Dallas Love Field was the third most impacted airport.
There were planes coming and going from the airport's gates Thursday, but not nearly as many as would be seen during a normal day of operations.
The airport was relatively empty as the long lines of people we saw Monday and Tuesday waiting to re-book their flights and find their luggage had disappeared.
The TSA security checkpoints remained empty, as they have been all week.
Kevin Colon and his family are diehard TCU fans going to the Fiesta Bowl being played Saturday. They were initially worried their flights would be cancelled, but they made it out.
Colon said, "We're excited, haven't been told anything otherwise, ready to go. We're excited about the bowl game - jacked. So, you're not keeping these kids home, I'll tell you that."
While customers we spoke with at Love Field Thursday were able to fly to their destinations, some of them like Iris Johnson said they remembered getting caught up in past mass cancellations. "I know what a headache that was. I didn't want to go through that again. So, I was really considering cancelling my flight altogether, but I decided I kept looking and it kept saying my flight was going to be on time. So I said that's great, I'll go on and take a chance."
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted today, "Earlier this year, we secured written agreements from U-S carriers, including Southwest, for better customer service for stranded passengers. Now we will hold them accountable to these commitments."
Southwest has set up a website where customers who've been impacted by the cancellations can request reimbursements for meals, hotels, and alternate transportation.