Southwest Airlines again sees outsized disruptions in latest winter storm

Southwest Airlines is again experiencing more flight delays and cancellations compared to other carriers as another winter storm in the northern U.S. disrupts flight travel across the country.

According to data from FlightAware, Southwest Airlines is leading all carriers in cancellations or delayed flights, with a total of 411 early Wednesday. Delta Air Lines is also heavily affected, with a total of 378 delayed or canceled flights. Regional carrier SkyWest Airlines is third most affected, with 295 delayed or canceled flights.

An alternative flight tracking site, Anuvu, which also measures delays and cancellations, showed Southwest and Delta tied for worst on-time departure rate as of Wednesday morning, at just 56%. Delta had the highest cancellation rate, at 10%, compared with Southwest’s 6%.

FlightAware shows the airport most affected by the storm is Minneapolis-Saint Paul, a hub for Delta that is also served by Southwest, with 44% of flights canceled Wednesday. Denver International Airport, a hub for Southwest, is also heavily affected, with 11%, or 100 flights, canceled and 58 flights, or 6%, delayed. Other airports served by Southwest that are affected by the storm include Detroit Metropolitan, Chicago-Midway, and Salt Lake City International.

Southwest and Delta have both issued flight waivers for travelers potentially affected by this week’s storm that will allow them to rebook without paying any additional charge.

Southwest is still dealing with the fallout from a 2022 Christmas weekend winter storm meltdown that saw at least 2 million travelers’ flights canceled and which cost the airline at least $800 million. Southwest has commissioned a study to determine what went wrong, but has preliminarily blamed a combination of technical and procedural factors. Its COO also told a recent Senate hearing that the carrier’s winter weather preparedness was inadequate.

Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its performance amid this week’s winter storm.

Tips for rebooking a flight

To avoid being trapped in a line to rebook at your airline’s terminal, get on the internet immediately and start looking for alternative forms of travel. Experts say Google’s flight search option is the best bet for finding the most up-to-date choices when it comes to getting a new flight, which are also searchable by a number of criteria, including price.

If you’re strapped for cash and are looking to rebook, you’ll still want to attempt to call the airline before or as you wait in line with an in-person rebooking agent. Of note: Not all major airlines have rebooking agreements with other carriers. The ones that do are: Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, and United. The ones that do not are: Allegiant, Frontier, Southwest, and Spirit.

What your rights are if your flight was canceled

In this situation, you are only entitled to a refund if you don’t take an offer to be rebooked on another flight. That also means you don’t have to accept an airline’s offer of a voucher. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation: “If an airline cancels a passenger’s flight or makes a significant change in the flight, regardless of the reason, airlines are required to provide a prompt refund to a ticketed passenger, including those with non-refundable tickets, should the passenger choose not to accept the alternative offered, such as rebooking on another flight.”

Unfortunately, you have few rights if your flight is delayed or canceled for reasons outside of an airline’s control

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, only factors like maintenance or crew problems, cabin cleaning, baggage loading, and fueling count as within an airline’s control.

If your flight was delayed for longer than three hours, or canceled, for any of those reasons, you are entitled to a meal or meal cash/voucher, and, with the exception of Frontier Airlines, are entitled to complimentary hotel accommodations and complimentary ground transport to and from a hotel for an overnight cancellation situation. Click here for more.

If your flight is delayed for any other reason, like weather, you are not entitled to any compensation or refund.