The convergence of a massive winter storm, a swarm of holiday travelers and a major airline’s operational collapse has created a travel meltdown of epic proportions.
Southwest Airlines engers suffered the worst of it, with the carrier drawing scrutiny from the Transportation Department for a wave of cancellations and delays that continued Wednesday while competitors had already recovered. As of noon Wednesday, more than 2,500 Southwest flights were canceled, representing more than 60 percent of the schedule, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. The airline has itted to struggles with outdated scheduling systems, and an internal company memo highlighted a worker shortage in Denver.
Across the country, engers attempting to fly Southwest either gave up on holiday reunions with out-of-town family or made drastic alternatives like driving through the night or paying s to rebook through other airlines.
The unluckiest among them were left waiting for hours (or days) with few answers on when or how they could resume their journeys — or where their luggage was waiting without them.
Here’s what you need to know if your Southwest flight was caught in the fray.
How do I get a refund from Southwest?
The airline has set up a dedicated website for travelers to request a refund: Southwest.com/traveldisruption.
According to the Transportation Department, travelers are entitled to a refund if an airline cancels a flight, no matter the reason, and the customer decides not to travel. engers are also owed a refund if a carrier makes a schedule change or has a delay that is considered “significant” and the traveler opts not to take the flight.
How long will it take to get my money back?
It’s not clear yet how long it will take for the airline to process refund requests. Southwest did not include a response to this question in comments it provided to The Washington Post.
In a customer service commitment posted in 2019, the airline said its refunds department processes credit card refunds within seven business days from the time they receive a request.
The Transportation Department has cracked down this year on airlines that did not provide timely refunds, fining six airlines for “extreme delays” in refunding engers. Southwest was not one of the six airlines fined.
“When a flight gets canceled, engers seeking refunds should be paid back promptly. Whenever that doesn’t happen, we will act to hold airlines able on behalf of American travelers and get engers their money back,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement in November. “A flight cancellation is frustrating enough, and you shouldn’t also have to haggle or wait months to get your refund.”
How do I get my luggage back?
Southwest said in a statement Wednesday that teams at the airline are “finalizing a resource” to provide extra help to travelers who need to be reunited with their lost or missing bags. On its website for travelers whose trips were disrupted, the airline says only: “We recognize that many of our Customers are currently separated from their belongings, and we’re working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
According to the airline’s contract of carriage, Southwest will pay for delayed bags to be delivered. The airline will compensate engers for expenses they experience due to the loss, damage or delay of baggage, up to $3,800.
Will the airline pay for my hotel room and meals if I’m stuck?
In a statement, Southwest said that “requests for reasonable reimbursements directly related to the travel disruption will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.” That includes meals, hotels and alternate forms of transportation. The airline says on its website to submit receipts for expenses related to cancellations or significant delays experienced between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 at an “Email Us” link on Southwest.com.
According to an airline customer service dashboard maintained by the Transportation Department, Southwest has committed to cover several expenses in cases of “controllable” cancellations and delays. They include meals or vouchers if a enger is waiting three hours or more; hotel accommodations if the delay or cancellation requires an overnight wait; and free ground transportation to and from a hotel for an overnight cancellation or delay.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, Buttigieg said the airline could no longer say the cancellations were a “weather-driven issue.” He called it a “system failure.”
“They need to make sure that these stranded engers get to where they need to go and that they’re provided adequate compensation not just for the flight itself,” he said.
Will Southwest reimburse me if I have to book on another airline?
The airline says it will honor “reasonable requests” for reimbursement for alternate transportation.
When will Southwest flights be back to normal?
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in a video message Tuesday night that he was “optimistic” that the airline would be “back on track before next week.” He said the plan for the next few days, however, was to fly a “reduced schedule” – meaning many flights would be canceled. According to FlightAware, Southwest has already canceled more than 2,300 flights for Thursday, or 58 percent of its schedule.
Will other airlines hike prices as engers book alternate flights?
Several other airlines, including United and American, said they had capped fares on flights from certain cities, though they didn’t offer specific details on exact locations. United said it was capping fares in select cities that Southwest serves in the United States and Latin America through Dec. 31, and Frontier said it capped its prices at “pre-disruption levels.”
The Denver-based budget airline said it has sold “thousands of last minute tickets in recent days.”
“We are running almost completely full, accommodating as many engers as possible,” Frontier said in an email. Buttigieg urged airlines in a Tuesday night tweet to continue capping fares to help Southwest travelers get home.
Julian Mark and Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.
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