Southwest Airlines: 3rd day of travel frustrations at Pittsburgh International Airport
MOON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - The travel nightmare continues at Pittsburgh International Airport as many Southwest Airlines flights are canceled for the third day in a row.
On Wednesday, travelers at Pittsburgh International who are affected by the flight fiasco are either stranded at the airport or staying at hotels as they scramble to figure out how they will get home.
"I was supposed to fly out on Monday evening but that was canceled. I was able to re-book for Tuesday then that was canceled. There weren't any more flights until Saturday," said Cassie Bass.
Bass is trying to get home to Chicago after visiting her family in Pittsburgh for the holidays. But like many airports right now, it's a real nightmare at Pittsburgh International Airport. Yet-to-be-claimed luggage is piling up and Southwest flights keep getting canceled.
Southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights across the country this Wednesday.
At Pittsburgh International, 38 Southwest flights were scrapped on Wednesday.
"Right now, I'm waiting for my friend to arrive so we can try to drive back to Chicago," Bass said.
She's one of many travelers turning to rental car companies, which have been running low on vehicles.
"I haven't actually canceled my return flight for southwest just in case the car isn't there because I don't want to be out of options," Bass said.
Ian Skal wants to get back to school in Dallas. He's a standby passenger and hoping a seat will open soon.
"There's a little concern because it does affect me because all those cancellations are sending people to the flights I'm hoping to get on as a standby passenger... Getting a little concerned because they are filling up a little fast, but I might get lucky, we'll see how that goes," said Ian Skal.
Southwest issued an apology and said it's reducing flights as it tries to get its systems back on track by next week.
"The holidays are busy for everyone, it's not the end of the world but it's definitely thrown a wrench in everything," Bass said.
Southwest is blaming a series of issues, including the pre-Christmas winter storm, aggressive flight scheduling and outdated infrastructure.
