- Southwest has canceled more than 2,000 flights since Saturday.
- The airline blamed air traffic control issues, bad weather and its own staffing shortage.
- Outraged customers complained about long hold times to change flights.
Southwest Airlines shares slipped Monday after it canceled more than 2,000 flights since Saturday, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of people.
Southwest’s operation improved since the weekend meltdown but cancellations continued. It scrapped 363 flights on Monday, down from 1,124 on Sunday, which was 30% of its schedule, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The airline has already said it would trim its fall schedules to avoid cancellations and delays that plagued its operation during the summer. Now the carrier is weighing whether it needs to cut more.
Mike Van de Ven the Dallas-based airline’s COO who was also promoted to president last month, told staff late Sunday that Southwest is still short-staffed and “we’ll need to continue to adjust our schedules as this environment evolves.”