From Los Angeles to Miami, Dallas to Denver, thousands of Southwest customers had weekend travel plans ruined by more than 2,000 flight cancelations. The airline canceled another 10% of flights on Monday.
Lines were long and tempers short at airports in several cities, as passengers were forced to wait hours, and in some cases, days to rebook on other flights.
The company on Monday offered a "tremendous apology" to customers and employees, citing weather and external constraints. Captain Cassey Murray, president of the Southwest pilots' union, insists the disruptions were not caused by pilots protesting the pending vaccine mandate. He told CBS News that the airline's pilot sick rate for this weekend was "right in line with what was occurring this summer.""The problem is not meeting months ago and addressing these insurance issues — addressing our pilot medicals," he said.
Julianne Mattox attended a wedding in Austin, Texas, with two friends. Before Southwest canceled their Sunday flight back to Washington, D.C., offering Wednesday instead."The general consensus among everyone was it's easier to rent a car and just get out of town to start moving, rather than waiting until Tuesday or Wednesday to even potentially get a flight," she said.
But, he said he's unsure if that will happen by the December 8 deadline — maybe not even before Thanksgiving.
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