Holiday Travel Update: Southwest Airlines Experiences Disruptions
By Matt Coleman
Published December 25, 2023
The holiday season brought mostly good conditions for travelers, with Christmas Day marking a relatively smooth weekend for those flying. However, Southwest Airlines faced disruptions yet again, impacting travelers during this festive time.
Flight Disruptions and Preparations
As of midday on Monday, December 25, only 138 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. had been canceled, with 1,366 delayed, according to FlightAware. U.S. airlines had geared up for the holiday rush, hiring additional staff to prevent a repeat of the 2022 travel chaos. The aim was to mitigate delays and cancellations that had affected over 2 million passengers last year, particularly during the Southwest Airlines incident.
Southwest Airlines' Challenges
Southwest Airlines encountered setbacks over the weekend, striving to resolve issues by Monday. Although only 2% of the airline's flights were canceled on Monday, 12% faced delays, totaling 524 flights, according to FlightAware. The airline had canceled 426 flights and delayed 2,689 flights over the preceding Saturday and Sunday, largely due to dense fog in Chicago.
Holiday Travel Statistics
AAA predicted that around 115 million individuals in the U.S. would travel at least 50 miles from home by air or car between Saturday and New Year’s Day, marking a 2% increase from the previous year. Additionally, over 2.6 million people were screened by the TSA on Thursday, with data from the weekend yet to be released.
Air and Road Travel
During Thanksgiving, a record number of individuals passed through U.S. airports, surpassing pre-COVID figures from 2019. The mild weather this holiday season contributed to maintaining air travel schedules. However, hazardous road conditions affected parts of the country on Christmas Day. Nebraska, South Dakota, and parts of North and South Dakota experienced blizzards and ice storms, while INRIX predicted the busiest road travel days to be Saturday, December 23, and Thursday, December 28.
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