Southwest Airlines Widespread Delays With Over 1,700 Flights Affected Across the US

HI INDIA NEWS DESK

CHICAGO, IL — A technology problem caused more than 1,700 Southwest Airlines flights to be delayed on Tuesday morning, according to reports. The airline experienced intermittent issues and had to implement a ground stop. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that Southwest had requested a pause of its departures nationwide around 9:30 a.m. However, by 10 a.m., the FAA said that the pause had been fully canceled. As of 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, over 1,700 Southwest flights nationwide had been delayed, accounting for about 41% of the airline’s flights, according to Flight Aware, a flight-tracking website. The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused by the technology issue and offered assistance to affected passengers.

Southwest Airlines, which is the dominant airline at Midway International Airport in Chicago, reported that 115 flights were delayed at Midway as of 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, out of a total of 1,930 flights, with only four cancellations. This is not the first time that technology issues have impacted Southwest’s operations. Last December, widespread winter weather and outdated staffing technology resulted in the cancellation of thousands of Southwest flights during the peak of the holiday travel season. Last month, the airline released an action plan in response to the travel disruptions, which includes investments to update its technology.