Airlines cancel nearly 3,000 more US flights as travel ordeal continues

After a winter storm disrupted travel over the Christmas holiday weekend, thousands of flight cancellations occurred in the week leading up to New Year’s Day.

Nearly 3,000 US flights have been canceled so far on Tuesday, after more than 4,000 were canceled on Monday and nearly 5,000 more were closed on Sunday, according to FlightAware.

Southwest Airlines travelers have been hardest hit, with the carrier canceling 2,571 flights, or 63% of its schedule. That’s far more than any other airline in the world on Tuesday. The second highest number of cancellations globally was for flights via the China Eastern carrier, with 638 cancellations.

Earlier this week, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan called the disruptions “the largest-scale event I’ve ever seen,” according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He added in the interview that the company would be operating at around a third of its usual schedule to get crews and planes to the correct geographic positions. The reduced schedule was scheduled through Thursday and, Jordan said at the time, could be extended.

South West Advisories this week noted that the company was “only affected” by Winter Storm Elliott, a massive snow and wind system that has claimed more than 50 lives so far. In its latest advisory, updated Monday, Southwest said “the ongoing challenges are having a significant impact on our customers and employees, which is unacceptable.”

“Our sincere apologies for this are just beginning,” the company added.

Continue reading: How to avoid flight delays and cancellations