When will Southwest Airlines chaos end at New Orleans airport? Here’s what CEO says.
Hundreds upon hundreds of suitcases and bags filled the Louis Armstrong International Airport on Tuesday as Southwest Airlines passengers suffering from a wave of cancellations tried to find their luggage and figure out their next move.
Southwest had a system meltdown during a winter storm that affected most of the U.S. over the Christmas holiday, prompting thousands of flight cancellations across the country, including many in New Orleans, Nola.com reported.
The result left many stranded at the airport and scrambling to get home, including Nashville resident David Smith who was in the Big Easy with his wife for Christmas to visit their daughter. Smith told Nola.com on Tuesday that there were no rental cars available, so they decided to take a train home.
“So, we booked Amtrak to Memphis leaving Wednesday morning and then rented a car to take us from there to Nashville,” Smith told the newspaper.
Southwest took around 3,000 flights off their schedule Tuesday and the cancellations continue.
The airline has canceled 2,508 flights so far Wednesday, according to Flight Aware. Forty-seven flights have been canceled in New Orleans as of 10 a.m., and that figure includes all airlines.
When will travelers see relief? Southwest’s CEO Bob Jordan said a fix is still days away.
“We’re doing everything we can to return to a normal operation, and please know that I’m truly sorry,” Jordan said Tuesday, adding that the airline will “double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so we never again face what’s happening right now.”
Jordan said in the video posted to Twitter that Southwest expects to be back on track before next week. More than 2,300 Southwest flights have already been canceled for Thursday, NPR reported.
Southwest does not fly into or out of the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.
