Bride Says She Missed Her Destination Wedding in Belize Due to Canceled Flight: 'Total Devastation'

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty, Katie Demko

A canceled Southwest Airlines flight spoiled a bride's destination wedding.

Katie Demko of St. Louis was set to get married in Belize on Friday, but missed her own wedding after her Southwest Airlines flight became one of thousands canceled across the U.S.

Demko tells PEOPLE what she felt the moment she found out she would miss her wedding. "Please let this not be true. This can't be happening. Total devastation," she says. "I was in shock and just went numb."

Her fiancé flew into Belize ahead of Demko and her children, per Insider. Her Tuesday flight, however, was short three flight attendants and the captain announced it was canceled shortly before boarding was meant to begin.

"I had about seven travel agents, and my whole family sat for 18 hours searching for a way to get us there," she told Insider. "We even looked at flying to Cancún and getting a bus to drive us to Belize. There was nothing."

While Southwest refunded her flights and she was able to push back services, including photography and decorations, the bride did not receive a full refund.

Victoria House, the resort she and her guests booked for the nuptials, does not provide refunds on cancellations made 30 days or less before arrival, according to their website. "We were not refunded for the resort, and the total cost collectively between my family/friends and us is anywhere between $60,000 to $70,000," she tells PEOPLE.

When it comes to rescheduling her wedding, Demko is uncertain of what will happen after taking such a financial hit.

"We are trying to see if we can even afford to go back to Belize to get married," she says. "However, it will most likely not be able to be at the same resort, which is upsetting because of its sentimental significance."

David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock

During the holiday week, cancellations and delays affected travelers across the country, particularly those flying with Southwest Airlines.

As of Dec. 27, 2,944 flights within, into or out of the United States were canceled, 2,547 of which were Southwest Airlines flights, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. On Dec. 26, 2,909 of the 4,006 canceled flights were Southwest.

A whopping 63% of Southwest Airlines's total flights on Dec. 27 were canceled, whereas the second most affected U.S. airline, Spirit, only canceled 10% of its flights, FlightAware reported.

At the time, a representative for Southwest told PEOPLE that they will be "operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days." They also noted that inventory available to book flights is "very low" and though nearly all flights on their website show as unavailable, they are "still operating flights."

A FlightAware spokesperson told CNN that Southwest scheduled too quick of turnaround times for flights which can "bog things down." Plus, rising cases of COVID-19, flu and RSV caused employees to call out sick.

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced on Monday night that they are taking the matter seriously and will be investigating Southwest Airlines's "unacceptable rate of cancellations."

In a statement from the USDOT Twitter, the organization stated, "The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan."

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A statement on the airline's website posted on Monday addressed how "continuing challenges" are affecting their customers and employees.

"With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable," the statement read.

The statement goes on to explain how the airline was fully staffed and prepared for the busy holiday travels but the severe winter storm greatly impacted their operations. It also thanks Southwest Airlines employees and crews for their work and apologizes to them and to customers for these disruptions.

"On the other side of this, we'll work to make things right for those we've let down, including our employees. With no concern higher than ultimate safety, the people of Southwest share a goal to take care of each and every customer. We recognize falling short and sincerely apologize," the statement concluded.