MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A massive winter storm that affected the northern U.S. continued to impact holiday travelers right here in South Florida and across the country Monday.
Southwest Airlines says that it’s experiencing system-wide disruptions, after the arctic blast and are “re-accommodating as many customers as possible based on available space.”
The carrier canceled at least 70 percent of its flights Monday.
Following the cancellations, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a statement Monday saying it was looking into whether the cancellations were controllable, and if the airline was complying with its customer service plan.
Sixty percent of Southwest’s flights on Tuesday have already been cancelled.
It was a similar scene at Miami International Airport Monday with more than a 150 delayed flights and nearly 50 cancellations.
Some travelers reported to Local 10 News they are having to wait for days to catch the next flight out.
“There’s a lot of cancellations,” Legend Sharpe, who was flying to Decatur, Illinois, said. “I’ve been here for two days.”
On Christmas Day alone, more than 40 flights were cancelled out of MIA, while about 100 were cancelled out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
“I just got off (a) cruise yesterday,” Dawei Wang, who was flying from Miami to Toronto, said. “So I stayed at the hotel one night.”
Officials at Miami International Airport expect the Friday before and the Friday after New Year’s Day to be the busiest upcoming travel days.
Officials advised flyers to keep an eye on the weather and check in with their airlines before leaving for the airport.