CLEVELAND — According to FlightAware, a website that tracks flights, cancellations and delays, Southwest Airlines has canceled more than 15,000 flights since Dec. 22.
Many people were stranded in airports, lost their luggage and spent the holidays in places they did not intend to. This included Austin Schneider and his wife, who were trying to get to Florida to see family.
“We basically got to the airport in Indianapolis, and our flight was canceled and so we waited in line for a couple of hours and we got rescheduled,” he said. “So we ended up getting to the airport at 4 a.m. and by I think 9:30 is when we landed eventually.”
He said the atmosphere at the airports was pretty negative, with many people frustrated about the situation.
“A lot of people just didn’t have answers and like, obviously for the employees, they don’t have control over it and so when people get frustrated, I just, yeah you feel bad for everyone that’s trying to get places and you feel bad for the employees,” he said.
On Friday morning, he traveled from Indiana to Cleveland to see his loved ones, but this time went much smoother.
“Thankfully our flights were all on time and so we’re just thankful to be here to celebrate New Year’s with our family in Ohio,” he said.
Moving forward, he and his wife will consider how and when they travel during the holiday season as a result of the chaos they endured this year.
“I’ll definitely look around a little bit more and I’ll probably maybe go into a holiday season travel with a little more expectations of potential of not being able to make it,” he said.
Still, he was thankful and happy that airports seem to be getting back to normal on Friday.
“Employee morale was better,” he said. “Everyone was happy, and I think it impacted all of us.”
