Southwest Airlines Cancels More Than 1,800 Flights This Weekend

More than 1,000 Southwest Airlines were canceled Sunday, and the airline blames air traffic control issues and bad weather. 

The cancelations equal about 27 percent of the airline’s schedule. Over the weekend, more than 1,800 Southwest flights have been canceled, more than any other airline. 

ATC issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation. We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/o1scQJ5lLb

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) October 9, 2021

“We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports [Friday] evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations,” said Alan Kasher, who oversees daily flight operations, to staff in a note.

In a statement on Saturday, Southwest said it hopes operations return run as “close to normal” on Sunday. 

There is speculation that it’s more than just weather and air traffic control issues, including opposition to last week’s announcement of a vaccine mandate. The Southwest Airlines Pilot Association attributed the disruption to a “poorly run operation” and staffing. 

“SWAPA is aware of operational difficulties affecting Southwest Airlines today due to several issues, but we can say with confidence that our pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions,” the union said in a statement.

This is not the first time this year the airline has grappled with operational woes. Southwest was forced to cancel many flights over the summer due to staffing issues and bad weather.