Southwest cancelled another 2,300 flights on Thursday and canceled 39 flights scheduled for Friday.
The airliner said it expects to resume its normal schedule on Friday after more than a week of cancelations and lost luggage.
CNBC reported:
Southwest Airlines confirmed on Thursday that it expects to run a normal schedule on Friday after the carrier’s systemwide meltdown stranded hundreds of thousands of customers over the Christmas holiday week and drew scrutiny from Washington.
The carrier cancelled 39 flights scheduled for Friday, according to FlightAware, down from more than 2,300 Thursday.
The low-cost airline slashed schedules over the last several days, flying just about one-third of its planned flights, in an desperate effort to stabilize its operation, getting planes and crews where they needed to go.
“We have all hands on deck and tested solutions in place to support the restored operation. I’m confident, but I’m also cautious,” CEO Bob Jordan said in a staff memo Thursday.
Southwest canceled thousands of flights after a meltdown over the Christmas holiday weekend amid a Polar vortex.
Southwest canceled two-thirds of its flights Monday (at least 2,675 canceled), preceded Sunday by 42 percent canceled flights and 48 percent delayed flights. The massive cancellations are exclusive to Southwest, other are operating normally.
The airliner also cancelled more than 2,000 flights on Wednesday.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was harshly criticized for being AWOL as thousands of Americans were stranded at airports across the country.
The small town mayor-turned-Transportation Secretary was tweeting about Kwanzaa as Southwest canceled thousands of flights.
To those who observe, wishing you a bright and meaningful Kwanzaa. https://t.co/Dal2EWLSm7
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) December 26, 2022
