Southwest Airlines to resume normal schedule Friday after cancellations impact Nashville

Southwest Airlines expects to return to normal operations Friday after scores of canceled flights hampered travelers at the Nashville International Airport and nationwide for several days.

The airline announced the news Thursday as it continued to operate on about one-third of its usual schedule.

"We are encouraged by the progress we've made to realign crew, their schedules and our fleet," the airline said in a news release. "With another holiday weekend full of important connections for our valued customers and employees, we are eager to return to a state of normalcy."

The cancellations are part of nationwide issues with the airline that came on the heels of severe winter storms during a busy holiday travel week. The disparate number of Southwest flight cancellations prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation to open a review on the airline.

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"Southwest passengers have experienced unacceptable disruptions and customer service conditions," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a Twitter post Tuesday. "I have made clear to their executives that our department will hold Southwest accountable for making things right with their customers and employees."

Feds step in:Southwest has canceled thousands of flights amid winter storm, DOT launches review

The vast majority of canceled flights at the Nashville airport on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were with Southwest Airlines, according to an airport spokesperson and the airport's online flight tracker. Cancellations continued Thursday, along with reports of missing luggage and long lines at airport service desks.

Southwest accounted for more than 91% of all canceled flights across the U.S. on Wednesday, according to real-time flight tracker FlightAware. Around 2,500 Southwest flights had been canceled Wednesday, with a total of 10,000 of its flights canceled this week. For comparison, several other major airlines reported 0-2% cancellation rates this week.

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Southwest CEO: Reduced schedule will continue as airline works to catch up

Southwest Airlines president and CEO Bob Jordan apologized in a video statement released Tuesday night, saying a "massive effort" was underway to stabilize the airline. He said issues are taking several days to solve because Southwest is the largest carrier in the country and the severe weather halted services in several cities at once.

"With our large fleet of airplanes and flight crews out of position in dozens of locations, and after days of trying to operate as much of our full schedule as possible across the busy schedule of the holiday weekend, we reached a decision point to significantly reduce our flying to catch up," Jordan said. "We're focused on safely getting all of the pieces back into position to end this rolling struggle."

Jordan addressed concerns over how the airline struggled to navigate severe weather and service disruptions.

"The tools we use to recover from disruption serve us well 99% of the time, but clearly we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never again face what's happening right now," he said.

Jordan said Southwest is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation, alongside their employees, to assure refunds are processed and customers are supported. More information for those affected by Southwest flight delays and cancellations can be found at southwest.com/traveldisruptions.

Florida couple navigates missing luggage, long drive from Nashville to New York

Kelli Jones and her boyfriend, James Heyburn, were on a layover in Nashville after traveling from Tampa, Florida. They were bound for Islip, New York, to visit family when their flight out of Nashville was canceled Monday. After spending hours in line and seeing both their standby flight options canceled, they decided to rent a car and make the long drive to New York instead.

They drove through the night Tuesday and arrived in Islip around 6 a.m. Wednesday, Jones said. They have not been able to track down their luggage and have racked up hundreds of dollars of expenses between taxis, Uber rides, hotels, gas, rental car fees and tolls. They also had to buy clothes, basic necessities, food and toiletries.

Jones said they have tried repeatedly to call Southwest Airlines customer service.

"I can't get ahold of anyone," Jones said. "You just sit on hold for hours."

Jones said she has also gotten a busy signal, a message saying the line was no longer working or has been disconnected when calling Southwest customer service numbers.

The couple bought tickets back to Florida with another airline for Jan. 1, which delayed their plans and forced them both to take extra time off work. She submitted a refund request for their flight on the Southwest Airlines website and plans to submit a reimbursement request later.

Pilots union blames outdated infrastructure at Southwest Airlines

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, an independent union that represents nearly 10,000 Southwest pilots, released a statement Wednesday. It said the airline's leaders have failed to modernize, support and staff its operations over the last several years and that its current problems are not new issues.

"The impact of Southwest’s operational collapse being felt by passengers and crews over this holiday was not a surprise to anyone but the leadership of Southwest Airlines," the statement read. "It was unacceptable and the worst of the effects were absolutely preventable. "

The association said the airline has faced repeated disruptions and lost millions of dollars due to its failure to adapt and safeguard operations for more than a decade. It said the issues plaguing the airline have tarnished its brand and broken the trust of loyal customers.

"The holiday meltdown has been blamed on weather that had been forecast five days prior, but this problem began many years ago when the complexity of our network outgrew its ability to withstand meteorological and technological disruptions," the statement said.

The association called for investments into better infrastructure, especially in the software used to schedule and coordinate crews.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southwest to resume normal schedule Friday after days of cancellations