Flight delays and cancellations leave thousands stranded, looking for answers

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Thousands of flight delays and cancellations across the country Tuesday have left thousands of people stranded and looking for answers as travelers try to reach their destinations.

If you’re looking to catch a plane this week, you might want to have a backup plan as the travel troubles continue across the country into Tuesday.

“I just want to go home today and now I can’t,” said Adam Burgett. A traveler whose flight to Washington state was cancelled. “So, it’s a bit annoying.”

Burgett is just one of thousands caught in the crossfire of delayed and cancelled flights. The vast majority of them have come from Southwest Airlines. The airline company has cancelled more than 2,500 flights as of Tuesday morning according to the flight tracker site FlightAware. That’s more than 60 percent of their flight schedule.

“It’s annoying. But what can you do?” Burgett said.

This comes after they cancelled 70 percent of their flight schedule on Monday as well as all departing flights from Los Angeles International through Dec. 31. The airline cited extreme winter weather in a statement Monday, adding “our heartfelt apologies are just the beginning.”
More information on what travelers can do at this time can be found on their website. Burgett said he’s trying to get home to Washington state after the Christmas holiday. His cancellation hasn’t completely ruined his travel, however. He said he doesn’t have to be back to work until after the New Year anyway.

“I get to hang out with my family more for my holiday,” Burgett said. “It’s definitely frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world.”

But KFOR reporter Natalie Clydesdale is stuck in the steel city. Her flight cancellation is forcing her to make the near 16-hour drive from her hometown of Pittsburgh to Oklahoma City.

“Traveling from Pittsburgh to Oklahoma City is really never easy,” she said. “It’s always a connecting flight, but obviously nothing like this has ever happened before. It’s never been this hard.”

This is all after checking other airlines to try and avoid the drive. But Clydesdale said it’s not financially feasible.

“It is so expensive,” she said. “Well over $1,000 and there’s no flights out of Pittsburgh to Oklahoma City until Thursday.”

According to FlightAware, 87 percent of Tuesday’s flight cancellations were from Southwest Airlines. More than 3,500 flights scheduled for Wednesday have already been cancelled as well.