Southwest canceled about 16,700 flights over the last 10 days of December. The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating whether the airline deceived customers by knowingly scheduling more flights than it realistically could handle.
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The Federal Aviation Administration is lifting a ground stop on flights across the U.S. following a computer outage early Wednesday that resulted in thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide.
Southwest Airlines returned to a relatively normal flight schedule Friday, as the focus shifts to making things right with what could be well more than a million passengers who missed family connections or flights home during the holidays, and many of whom are still missing luggage.
It is likely that far more than 1 million passengers have been affected. Southwest has canceled more than 13,000 flights since its meltdown began on Dec. 22. Its planes have 143 to 175 seats and were likely nearly fully booked around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The increase in cases across China follows the rollback of the nation’s strict anti-virus controls. China’s “zero COVID” policies had kept the country’s infection rate low but fueled public frustration and crushed economic growth.
This week, with cancellations from other major airlines ranging from none to 2%, Southwest has canceled nearly 10,000 flights as of Wednesday and warned of thousands more Thursday and Friday, according to FlightAware.
Airports most affected by the Tuesday cancellations are Denver International, followed by Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Dallas Love Field and Nashville International.
More than 1,800 flights have been canceled Thursday across the United States, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware, as severe winter weather complicates holiday travel.
The number of travelers expected to fly – 7.2 million – is just shy of 2019’s 7.3 million. And when you factor in that airlines are operating fewer flights that are more crowded, there’s serious potential for a serious mess for air travelers. How to cope? Here are some strategies.
United said Wednesday that it will resume seasonal flights from Newark, New Jersey, to Stockholm, which it dropped in 2019, and launch new summer service from Newark to Malaga, Spain.
On Sunday, Chicago O’Hare saw the most cancellations and delays, with approximately 12% of flights canceled, and over 45% of flights delayed.
U.S. airlines have canceled more than 100,000 flights this year, with 30,000 cancellations just since Memorial Day weekend, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware.
AAA predicts that nearly 48 million people will travel at least 50 miles or more from home over the weekend, slightly fewer than in 2019. AAA says car travel will set a record even with the national average price for gasoline hovering near $5.
The first lawsuits have been filed only days after an Amtrak train collision and derailment in rural Missouri that left four people dead and injured up to 150 others.
Three people are dead and at least 50 injured after an Amtrak train derailed Monday in Missouri, Cpl. Justin Dunn, a spokesperson for Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop B, told reporters Monday evening.
The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights, easing one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
