Buttigieg warns Southwest CEO he will hold airline accountable after 'meltdown' - CNN

(CNN) — Southwest Airline's operational meltdown has enactment the Dallas-headquartered institution nether superior scrutiny -- not lone from stranded passengers and media reports but from US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arsenic well.

He spoke straight to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan connected Tuesday astir the thousands of flights that person been canceled this week with nary contiguous denotation of erstwhile passengers tin rebook.

"Their strategy truly has wholly melted down," Buttigieg told CNN's Wolf Blitzer connected Tuesday.

"I made wide that our section volition beryllium holding them accountable for their responsibilities to customers, some to get them done this concern and to marque definite that this can't hap again."

Passengers booked with beleaguered Southwest Airlines person been hoping for immoderate much-needed alleviation connected cancellations and delays. But those hopes -- truthful acold -- are being dashed.

Out of the much than 2,640 cancellations already made for Wednesday, astir each of them beryllium to Southwest.

All different US airlines unneurotic relationship for conscionable astir 155 of those cancellations.

Latest formation cancellation and hold figures

A look astatine existent numbers amusement wherefore Buttigieg is truthful concerned.

Almost 3,200 flights within, into oregon retired of the United States person already been canceled for Tuesday arsenic of 9:30 p.m. ET, according to formation tracking website FlightAware.

Of those canceled flights, immoderate 2,680 were those of Southwest. That was astir two-thirds of each Southwest flights for Tuesday and a stunning 84% of each canceled flights successful the United States.

By contrast, competitors Alaska Airlines had 10% of its flights canceled and United Airlines had lone 3%.

Airports astir affected by the Tuesday cancellations person been Denver International, followed by Harry Reid International Airport successful Las Vegas, Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Nashville International and Dallas Love Field.

There were astir 6,800 delays arsenic of 9:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Today's cancellations followed a afloat time of post-Christmas question chaos, with 3,989 flights canceled connected Monday -- 2,909 of those being Southwest flights.

Buttigieg takes Southwest to task

Southwest has blamed the question catastrophe connected a operation of factors, including wintertime tempest delays, assertive formation scheduling and outdated infrastructure.

"From what I tin tell, Southwest is incapable to find adjacent wherever their ain crews are, fto unsocial their ain passengers, fto unsocial baggage," said Buttigieg, adding that helium besides spoke with leaders of the airline's unions representing formation attendants and pilots.

The caput said helium told CEO Jordan that helium expects Southwest to proactively connection refunds and disbursal reimbursement to affected passengers without them having to ask.

"I conveyed to the CEO our anticipation that they going to spell supra and beyond to instrumentality attraction of passengers and to code this," helium said.

Buttigieg told CNN the Department of Transportation is prepared to prosecute fines against Southwest if determination is grounds that the institution has failed to conscionable its ineligible obligations, but helium added that the section volition beryllium taking a person look astatine accordant lawsuit work problems astatine the airline.

"While each of the different parts of the aviation strategy person been moving toward betterment and getting amended each day, it's really been moving the other absorption with this airline," said Buttigieg.

"You've got a institution present that's got a batch of cleaning up to do," helium said.

A video apology

Jordan apologized to passengers and employees in a video statement released by the institution connected Tuesday evening.

"We're doing everything we tin to instrumentality to a mean operation, and delight besides perceive that I americium genuinely sorry," Jordan said.

While Jordan acknowledged problems with the institution response, the connection suggested that helium did not foresee monolithic changes to Southwest's procedures successful effect to the wide cancellations.

"The tools we usage to retrieve from disruption service america good 99% of the time, but intelligibly we request to double-down connected our already-existing plans to upgrade systems for these utmost circumstances truthful that we ne'er again look what's happening close now," said Jordan.

"We're optimistic to beryllium backmost connected way earlier adjacent week."

So what tin Southwest passengers do?

Southwest has warned that this week's cancellations and delays are expected to proceed for respective much days.

So wherever does that permission customers who are successful a existent jam? What should they do?

"First things first, travelers who are inactive stuck waiting connected Southwest and request to get determination should effort to publication a formation with different hose arsenic soon arsenic imaginable ... close now, really," said Kyle Potter, enforcement exertion astatine the question proposal website Thrifty Traveler, successful an email to CNN Travel precocious Tuesday afternoon.

"Every hose successful the state is jam-packed close now, truthful your likelihood of adjacent uncovering a spot -- fto unsocial astatine an adjacent halfway decent terms -- get smaller by the hour," Potter said.

"Travelers successful the heavy of this should beryllium definite to prevention each their receipts: different flights, a rental car, nights astatine the hotel, meals, anything," Potter said.

If you've been near successful the lurch and your efforts to scope a lawsuit work cause are going nowhere, the laminitis of Scott's Cheap Flights suggests trying an planetary number.

"The main hotline for US airlines volition beryllium clogged with different passengers getting rebooked. To get done to an cause quickly, telephone immoderate 1 of the airline's dozens of planetary offices," Scott Keyes said.

"Agents tin grip your preservation conscionable similar US-based ones can, but there's virtually nary hold to get through."

Multiplying problems

Southwest was deed peculiarly hard due to the fact that of a cascade of issues.

The tempest slammed 2 of its biggest hubs -- Chicago and Denver -- astatine a clip erstwhile wintertime ailments were stretching unit rosters. Southwest's assertive docket and underinvestment person besides been blamed.

The wintertime tempest that swept crossed the state was ill-timed for travelers who had started pushing Christmas week flying numbers backmost toward pre-pandemic levels.

On Christmas Day, 3,178 flights were canceled and 6,870 were delayed, according to FlightAware. On Christmas Eve, determination were a full of 3,487 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.

Friday was the worst time of this streak with 5,934 cancellations, portion Thursday saw astir 2,700 cancellations.

Long lines and container buildups astatine airports

At the Southwest summons antagonistic astatine Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport connected Tuesday morning, agelong lines were already gathering up arsenic travelers waited to effort to rebook flights oregon marque connections.

And astatine Chicago's Midway International, immense buildups of unclaimed bags piled up arsenic passengers struggled to reclaim their luggage. There were akin scenes astatine different airports including Harry Reid successful Las Vegas and William P. Hobby Airport successful Houston.

Passenger Trisha Jones told CNN astatine the airdrome successful Atlanta that she and her spouse had been traveling for 5 days, trying to get location to Wichita, Kansas, aft disembarking from a cruise astatine Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

After her formation retired was canceled, she stayed with relatives past rerouted to Atlanta to prime up a connecting flight.

"We were fortunate, due to the fact that we were successful Fort Lauderdale -- my household lives successful the Tampa bay country truthful we were capable to rent a car to spell spot my household for Christmas," Jones said. "We've seen a batch of families who are sleeping connected the floor, and it conscionable breaks my heart."

Southwest: 'Keep your receipts'

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said the caller wintertime tempest is to blasted for the cascade of cancellations.

"As the tempest continued to expanse crossed the state it continued to interaction galore of our larger stations and truthful the cancellations conscionable compiled 1 aft different to 100 to 150 to 1,000," Jay McVay said successful a quality league astatine Houston's William P. Hobby Airport connected Monday night.

"With those cancellations and arsenic a result, we extremity up with formation crews and airplanes that are retired of spot and not successful the cities that they request to beryllium successful to proceed to tally our operations."

McVay said that the company's archetypal precedence close present is safety. "We privation to marque definite that we run these flights safely and that we person the formation crews that person ineligible and capable clip to run these flights," helium stated.

"We volition bash everything that we request to bash to close the challenges that we've had close now," helium said, including "hotels, thrust assistance, vans ... rental cars to effort and marque definite these folks get location arsenic rapidly arsenic possible."

He promised that each customers, adjacent those who had already near the airdrome oregon made alternate arrangements connected their own, would besides beryllium taken attraction of.

"If you've already left, instrumentality attraction of yourself, bash what you request to bash for your family, support your receipts," McVay relayed. "We volition marque definite they are taken attraction of, that is not a question."

What's incorrect from a pilot's constituent of view

Speaking to CNN connected Tuesday, the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Capt. Mike Santoro, said the problems facing Southwest were the worst disruptions he'd experienced successful 16 years astatine the airline.

He described past week's tempest arsenic a catalyst that helped trigger large method issues.

"What went incorrect is that our IT infrastructure for scheduling bundle is vastly outdated," helium said. "It can't grip the fig of pilots, formation attendants that we person successful the system, with our complex way network. 

"We don't person the mean hub the different large airlines do. We alert a point-to-point network, which tin enactment our crews successful the wrong places, without airplanes."

He added: "It is frustrating for the pilots, the formation attendants and particularly our passengers. We are bushed of apologizing for Southwest, the pilots successful the airline, our hearts spell retired to all of the passengers, they really do."

In different developments

• In hard-hit occidental New York, Buffalo International Airport said successful its astir caller tweet that it does not program to resume rider flights earlier 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, pushing backmost the expected reopening by different 24 hours aboriginal than antecedently anticipated.

• Greyhound, the largest supplier of intercity autobus service, issued a service alert on Tuesday greeting stating galore of its scheduled services successful the precocious northeast continued to beryllium disrupted until further announcement owed to wintertime weather. Affected cities see Buffalo, Cleveland and Syracuse.

CNN's Andy Rose, Andi Babineau, Adrienne Broaddus, Dave Alsap, Nick Valencia, David Goldman, Leslie Perrot, Carlos Suarez and Ross Levitt contributed to this story.