Southwest Airlines said in a statement that business operations are “stable” as the company works to allay fears of a meltdown akin to one that occurred in 2022, following heavy fog in the Chicago area on Sunday that resulted in numerous flight cancellations at Midway International Airport.
The fog at Midway, the airline’s fourth-largest operation nationwide, caused about 300 of the 4,242 flights that Southwest Airlines operates throughout the system to be canceled on Sunday.
According to the airline, a thick layer of fog that developed on Saturday night and persisted into Sunday morning made it impossible for inbound planes to land, leading to multiple diversions and eventual flight cancellations.
Although 101 flights across the system were canceled on Monday, and some more cancellations are anticipated through Tuesday, Southwest does not foresee any significant service interruptions on Monday or the days that follow.
Less than 1% of the more than 4300 flights in the system have been proactively canceled, amounting to 101 flights on Monday. do expect a few more cancellations today as strive for a complete recovery in time for the operation on Tuesday. In an official statement, Southwest Airlines stated, “We have all hands on deck as our Employees are working to quickly and safely take care of our Customers during this busy holiday travel season. We apologize for any inconvenience to those whose travel was affected over the last two days.”
One year ago, during a winter storm in the days after Christmas, the airline experienced a historic travel disruption that caused thousands of flights to be canceled and separated passengers from their luggage. This year, the airline is experiencing another disruption to its operations.
The winter storm and “scheduling problems” were the airline’s explanations for the 2022 meltdown.