NORFOLK, Va. — Americans are in the middle of a holiday travel nightmare. As of Tuesday night, more than 4,000 flights are canceled nationwide, with more than half from Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware.
Many travelers flying with Southwest at Norfolk International Airport said their flights are either canceled or delayed.
“It’s getting frustrating," Legwe Antoine, a Hampton resident trying to travel to Florida, said. "A lot of money spent and hopefully we get some cash back or some vouchers."
As many people tried to leave Hampton Roads, Chris Saenz and his wife just wanted to come back home to Norfolk. They got stuck in Orlando and ended up renting a car.
“And we just drove straight. 10-11 hour drive. Yeah, we just made it 10 minutes ago and now we have to see where our baggage is at because they told us our bags made it but we’ll see if that’s true or not," Saenz said.
On Tuesday, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson said in a statement they decided to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one-third of their schedule for the next couple of days.
“It was pretty sad to see people's families being stuck in the airport," Saenz said.
In a tweet, the U.S. Department of Transportation said they are, "concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service." The post goes on to say "The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan."
Southwest Airlines officials said they were prepared and fully staffed for holiday travel. They said yesterday they apologize for letting down their customers and employees.
A spokesperson for the airline said they are still experiencing network issues as a result of the recent winter weather and are working to fix the issues. Some people on those canceled flights may not be able to fly out until Saturday due to available space.