THOUSANDS of Holiday Flights Canceled — And the Nightmare Isn't Over Yet

The holidays can be a stressful time for lots of people. Add weather complications into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Southwest

A holiday travel warning was issued by President Biden earlier this week, and delays and cancelations already started affecting airports before Christmas Day arrived. But one popular airline, in particular, has been at the center of some of this travel nightmare.

According to WFAA 8 ABC, Southwest Airlines canceled over 30% of flights on Friday, over 35% on Saturday, and about 19% on Sunday.

The cause for the issues? Southwest was one of the most impacted airlines by the winter storms that have impacted parts of the U.S., according to aviation expert Steve Cosgrove. That, combined with crews out of position caused flights are being canceled left and right. Plus, Southwest tends to run a tight schedule, making any delay (even a small one) tough to fix later.

Lots of Flights Have Been Impacted

Cosgrove also noted that there is still a shortage of pilots and staff. And because pilots can only fly a certain number of hours, they can get to a point where they are “timed out.” Once they’ve worked their set 16-hour duty day the FAA mandates that they get a rest period. That can cause further complications in flight schedules and only worsen the delays.

Southwest wasn’t the only airline impacted though. On Christmas Day alone, over 3,000 flights were canceled within, into, or out of the U.S., and over 7,000 were delayed, according to FOX 35 Orlando.

Flying Could Get Complicated

And the troubles aren’t over. Today (December 26th), the day after Christmas, over 1,600 flights “within, into or out of the U.S.” have already been canceled as of 7:45AM ET, and over 2,000 flights “within, into, or out of the country” have been delayed, according to FOX 35 Orlando.

Eric Burris, from WESH 2 News, posted on Twitter at around 8:42AM that flight issues had been impacting MCO (Orlando International Airport) as well.

About half the flights coming or going through @MCO are either delayed or cancelled.

Why? The FAA has issued a delay program due to volume.

Any flight crossing the orange line are running an average of 60 minutes behind… pic.twitter.com/HNrc4ZqfI5

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) December 26, 2022

As of around 9AM, 59 flights had been delayed, with 50 canceled.

My friends, delays and cancelations have been more and more of a factor today…

Please be kind to flight crews today; They've been doing the best they can!#Travel @MCO #BeKind pic.twitter.com/qZKnbrKtNp

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) December 26, 2022

UPDATE: According to Eric Burris, later in the afternoon there were about 117 flights delayed at MCO and 45 canceled.

Flights are just a MESS today. Here's a look at the board over @MCO; pic.twitter.com/DUXrkNvPud

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) December 26, 2022

FlightAware showed over 100 flights canceled in the last 24 hours. Dave Puglisi posted that the check-in lines at the airport were massive, and departures were averaging 30-minute delays.

A lot of red is on the departure board. FlightAware lists 188 cancelled flights in the last 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/e0FVBTifV6

— Dave Puglisi (@DavePuglisiTV) December 26, 2022

The extreme winter weather that has impacted much of the country is still impacting people and travel as a whole. The winter storm has sadly taken the life of 34 people nationwide, and driving/travel bans and restrictions have been put in place in many cities.

So before you leave for that next Disney trip, look carefully at any travel restrictions in your area, check to see if your flight has been delayed or canceled, and see if there are any alternative ways to get to your destination.