A Southwest Airlines executive warned of a staffing crisis at one among its major airports days before 1000’s of passengers were stranded over the Christmas holiday weekend, in accordance with a report.
Chris Johnson, Southwest’s vp of ground operations, circulated a memo to ramp employees on Dec. 21 declaring a “state of operational emergency” at its base in Denver after “an unusually high number” of employees didn’t show up for work, in accordance with Bloomberg News.
The Post reached out to Southwest for comment.
On Monday, the Dallas-based company finally cited weather and staffing issues at Denver International Airport for setting off a sequence of events that led to massive, systemwide disruptions that began over the vacation weekend and prolonged into this week.
The budget airline scrapped an extra 2,500 flights Wednesday, raising the overall to greater than 14,500 since Friday — two days after Johnson first sounded the alarm. The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 91% of all canceled flights within the US on Wednesday were from Southwest.
Offended Southwest travelers have posted videos and photos on social media showing long lines of frustrated passengers waiting hours to re-book flights.
Viral images also showed piles of bags that were waiting to be checked.
Rival carriers including America, Delta and United have implemented fare caps in several cities as they seek to accommodate the big influx of passengers stranded by Southwest, in accordance with the Wall Street Journal.
In a video that Southwest posted late Tuesday, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on target before next week.”
Jordan blamed the winter storm for snarling the airline’s “highly complex” network. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, but clearly, we want to double down” on upgrading systems to avoid a repeat of this week.
“We have now some real work to do in making this right,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. “For now, I would like you to know that we’re committed to that.”
Southwest, the nation’s fourth-largest domestic carrier, is drawing scrutiny from the Biden administration.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday that Southwest must fulfill “responsibilities to customers” including providing meals and hotel vouchers to those that remain stranded.
“Now that we’ve got those commitments that were made to us over the summer, we’re going to be using that as a tool to carry them accountable,” Buttigieg said on CNN.
“And I made that clear to Southwest leadership.”
The cupboard member added: “Now … the CEO pledged to me that they’ll not only meet but they’ll exceed the client service standards and commitments that they’ve made to us previously and that we’re ready to implement.”
In Congress, the Senate Commerce Committee also promised an investigation.
Two Senate Democrats called on Southwest to offer “significant” compensation for stranded travelers, saying the airline has the cash since it plans to pay $428 million in dividends next month.
With Post wires
A Southwest Airlines executive warned of a staffing crisis at one among its major airports days before 1000’s of passengers were stranded over the Christmas holiday weekend, in accordance with a report.
Chris Johnson, Southwest’s vp of ground operations, circulated a memo to ramp employees on Dec. 21 declaring a “state of operational emergency” at its base in Denver after “an unusually high number” of employees didn’t show up for work, in accordance with Bloomberg News.
The Post reached out to Southwest for comment.
On Monday, the Dallas-based company finally cited weather and staffing issues at Denver International Airport for setting off a sequence of events that led to massive, systemwide disruptions that began over the vacation weekend and prolonged into this week.
The budget airline scrapped an extra 2,500 flights Wednesday, raising the overall to greater than 14,500 since Friday — two days after Johnson first sounded the alarm. The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 91% of all canceled flights within the US on Wednesday were from Southwest.
Offended Southwest travelers have posted videos and photos on social media showing long lines of frustrated passengers waiting hours to re-book flights.
Viral images also showed piles of bags that were waiting to be checked.
Rival carriers including America, Delta and United have implemented fare caps in several cities as they seek to accommodate the big influx of passengers stranded by Southwest, in accordance with the Wall Street Journal.
In a video that Southwest posted late Tuesday, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on target before next week.”
Jordan blamed the winter storm for snarling the airline’s “highly complex” network. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, but clearly, we want to double down” on upgrading systems to avoid a repeat of this week.
“We have now some real work to do in making this right,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. “For now, I would like you to know that we’re committed to that.”
Southwest, the nation’s fourth-largest domestic carrier, is drawing scrutiny from the Biden administration.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday that Southwest must fulfill “responsibilities to customers” including providing meals and hotel vouchers to those that remain stranded.
“Now that we’ve got those commitments that were made to us over the summer, we’re going to be using that as a tool to carry them accountable,” Buttigieg said on CNN.
“And I made that clear to Southwest leadership.”
The cupboard member added: “Now … the CEO pledged to me that they’ll not only meet but they’ll exceed the client service standards and commitments that they’ve made to us previously and that we’re ready to implement.”
In Congress, the Senate Commerce Committee also promised an investigation.
Two Senate Democrats called on Southwest to offer “significant” compensation for stranded travelers, saying the airline has the cash since it plans to pay $428 million in dividends next month.
With Post wires
