Southwest Airlines says disruptions that led to more than 16,700 cancelled flights over the holidays will have severe financial consequences for the company.
Southwest Airlines says it will award the travelers who were caught in the surge of canceled flights during the holidays 25,000 frequent-flyer points, an award worth more than $300 in flights.
Passengers who looked for last-minute tickets encountered sky-high prices — in some cases, triple or quadruple the rate for the same route in the last few months. Experts say it's fairly normal.
Ahead of the New Year's weekend, the airline said that Friday will see minimal disruptions after its slashed schedule stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers during a wintry holiday stretch.
Southwest isn't the only airline experiencing delays and cancellations, but it is by far the worst-hit, with about 5,500 of its flights canceled across the country in the last two days.
The airline said it will address the situation with the pilot and that it doesn't condone employees sharing personal political opinions while working or tolerate behavior that leads to divisiveness.
Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights are either canceled or delayed on Monday, after a weekend of disruptions that the carrier has blamed on air traffic control issues and weather conditions.
Southwest Airlines flights were delayed across the country Monday night because of a problem with the company's weather data provider. Flights were again delayed on Tuesday.
The airlines will require all customers over the age of 2 to wear face coverings on board and at airports, with no exceptions. They say people who don't comply won't be allowed to fly as next week.
