Southwest Airlines blamed technical issues after more than 2,000 flights were canceled or delayed this weekend.
470 flights were canceled and 1,438 were delayed on Saturday, according to reports.
The airline claimed a “planned system outage” and severe thunderstorms affected flights nationwide.
KPRC reported:
A “planned system outage” early on Saturday affected Southwest Airlines flights nationwide, including some at Houston-area airports.
In a statement, the airline said the outage was due to technical issues that rose following routine overnight maintenance, affecting flights that were scheduled to depart earlier Saturday morning.
Passengers on social media have reported flight delays throughout the country, including at both Houston’s Bush and Hobby Airports.
A spokesperson for Houston Airports told KPRC 2 that the airline’s systems went down at around 4 a.m. but went back online at around 6 a.m. It is unknown how many flights have been affected at both airports.
Travelers affected by the cancelations and delays aired their grievances on social media.
Unbelievable!! Cancelled our flights again!! Looks like we need to start using another airline.
— SCarbone (@carbonefam5) April 3, 2022
@SouthwestAir rebooked to 5:40 AM flight a week prior to our flight, now flight cancelled & rebooked on a flight that departs over a day later. We went to bed at 11pm & woke up at 1:45am to catch this 5:40am flight that no longer exists. Please help!!! This is brutal. 😩😩😩
— Andrea (@aehitlin) April 3, 2022
@SouthwestAir Not the magical ending we had hoped for on our family Disney World trip. Canceled direct flight and stranded three days with no hotel openings. A nightmare with four children, including twin toddlers.
— Farrah (@Aufarrah) April 2, 2022
My wife’s medications were in those bags and the only thing your reps would say is well she shouldn’t have put them in a checked bag. If something isn’t done to make this right I will never fly southwest again
— Dylan Lamoreaux (@dylanlamoreaux) April 3, 2022
Southwest apologized to their customers.
“We are experiencing flight disruptions across our network today due to briefly pausing our service earlier this morning as we worked to resolve an intermittent technology issue, as well as ongoing weather challenges impacting multiple areas within our system.” Southwest said.
We are experiencing flight disruptions across our network today due to briefly pausing our service earlier this morning as we worked to resolve an intermittent technology issue, as well as ongoing weather challenges impacting multiple areas within our system. (1/2)
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 2, 2022
We offer our heartfelt apologies for any inconvenience, and we will continue to work with Customers who experience a disruption in their travel plans.
Check your flight status and explore rebooking options: https://t.co/hOjgBdLpAE (2/2)
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) April 2, 2022
