Hundreds of canceled Southwest flights roil holiday travel at Bay Area airports

Hundreds of canceled Southwest flights roil holiday travel at Bay Area airports

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              Hundreds of flights were canceled Monday at the Bay Area's three largest airports, ruining holiday travel. Southwest Airlines flights account for the overwhelming majority of cancellations.






              Travelers at the Bay Area's three biggest airports were largely spared the worst disruption many other US airports have wrestled with in recent times, as severe winter storms swept through much of the country.

That changed on Monday. San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose airports canceled a combined 388 flights by 5 p.m. Monday, leaving hundreds of people stranded at their local airports the day after Christmas.
San Francisco International Airport, the Bay Area’s largest airport, canceled 80 flights on Monday, including 7% of departures and 7% of arrivals, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.Another 205 at SFO. The flight was also delayed.

Travel disruptions were more severe in Oakland and San Jose. At Auckland International Airport, where Southwest Airlines accounted for 156 of his 161 flights canceled at the airport on Monday, a video posted on social media showed crowds waiting at the terminal and waiting for customers. The appearance of lining up in the service line was reflected. About 3 of his 10 flights to and from OAK have been cancelled.

All but three of the 147 flights canceled Monday at San Jose International Airport were operated by Southwest Airlines, with more than 66% of flights canceled at each Bay Area airport. SJC canceled 28% of departures and arrivals.
About 3,900 flights have been canceled nationwide as of Monday afternoon. Southwest Airlines accounts for the overwhelming share of these cancellations. The Dallas-based airline canceled his 2,862 flights, or 70%, on Monday, blaming the residual effects of the snowstorm and freezing temperatures.

“With multiple days of extreme winter weather across our network, the ongoing challenges are severely impacting our customers and employees, which is unacceptable,” the airline said in a statement. is.

Ricardo Cano is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @ByRicardoCano