After hundreds of U.S. flights have been canceled or delayed over the vacations in 2022, most vacation vacationers this yr are off to a cheerier begin this Christmas. However just a few bother spots have been rising on Christmas Day.
Roughly 157 flights to, from or throughout the U.S. had been been cancelled as of 5:25 p.m. Jap Time, whereas simply 2,058 have been delayed, in keeping with monitoring service FlightAware.
Airways had canceled only one.2% of U.S. flights to date this yr as of Dec. 22, the bottom in 5 years. Almost 3 million passengers have been anticipated to move by way of home airports in the course of the busy vacation interval, up 16% from 2022.
Southwest flights canceled
Not everybody obtained off so fortunate. Some passengers at Chicago’s Halfway Worldwide Airport this Christmas Eve have been left stranded on Christmas Eve, in keeping with CBS Information Chicago, with the U.S. provider most disrupted throughout final yr’s vacation interval — Southwest Airways — once more experiencing issues. Southwest attributed the delays to foggy climate in Chicago, however passengers additionally informed CBS2 {that a} scarcity of employees was an element.
These snafus additionally affected passengers at Denver Worldwide Airport, with Southwest canceling 293 flights on Sunday, whereas almost 1,300 journeys have been delayed, FlightAware knowledge exhibits.
“We had dense fog in Chicago that pressured us to discontinue working final night time and into this morning,” Chris Mainz, a Southwest Airways spokesman, informed CBS Information Colorado.
Southwest on Monday canceled 109 flights, or 2% of its each day journeys, whereas 693 flights have been delayed, FlightAware knowledge confirmed. By comparability, Delta and United Airways canceled eight and 6 flights, respectively.
“[Y]ou guys ruined my Christmas two years in a row,” one individual posted Friday on X.
In the meantime, a winter storm within the Northern Plains is bringing snow, ice and riskier street situations Monday to the area stretching from northern Kansas by way of Nebraska, the Dakotas and elements of Minnesota, the Climate Channel reported.
Southwest earlier this month agreed to a $140 million settlement with the federal authorities over the chaos final yr that stranded greater than 2 million vacationers over the vacations. Southwest has beforehand agreed to pay greater than $600 million in refunds and reimbursements to clients.
“It is a message to the complete airline trade: They need to handle passengers, or we’ll use the total extent of our authority to carry them accountable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted on Dec. 18.
—The Related Press contributed to this report.
