A Southwest Airlines executive warned of a staffing crisis at one of its major airports days before thousands of passengers were stranded over the Christmas holiday weekend, according to a report.
Chris Johnson, Southwest’s vice president of ground operations, circulated a memo to ramp workers on Dec. 21 declaring a “state of operational emergency” at its base in Denver after “an unusually high number” of employees didn’t show up for work, according to Bloomberg News.
The Post reached out to Southwest for comment.
On Monday, the Dallas-based company finally cited weather and staffing issues at Denver International Airport for setting off a chain of events that led to massive, systemwide disruptions that began over the holiday weekend and extended into this week.
The budget airline scrapped an additional 2,500 flights Wednesday, raising the total to more than 14,500 since Friday — two days after Johnson first sounded the alarm. The flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 91% of all canceled flights in the US on Wednesday were from Southwest.
Angry Southwest travelers have posted videos and photos on social media showing long lines of frustrated passengers waiting hours to re-book flights.
Viral images also showed piles of luggage that were waiting to be checked.
Rival carriers including America, Delta and United have implemented fare caps in several cities as they seek to accommodate the large influx of passengers stranded by Southwest, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a video that Southwest posted late Tuesday, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on track before next week.”
Jordan blamed the winter storm for snarling the airline’s “highly complex” network. He said Southwest’s tools for recovering from disruptions work “99% of the time, but clearly, we need to double down” on upgrading systems to avoid a repeat of this week.
“We have some real work to do in making this right,” said Jordan, a 34-year Southwest veteran who became CEO in February. “For now, I want you to know that we are committed to that.”
Southwest, the nation’s fourth-largest domestic carrier, is drawing scrutiny from the Biden administration.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday that Southwest must fulfill “responsibilities to customers” including providing meals and hotel vouchers to those who remain stranded.
“Now that we have those commitments that were made to us over the summer, we’re going to be using that as a tool to hold them accountable,” Buttigieg said on CNN.
“And I made that clear to Southwest leadership.”
The cabinet member added: “Now … the CEO pledged to me that they will not only meet but they will exceed the customer service standards and commitments that they have made to us in the past and that we’re in a position to enforce.”
In Congress, the Senate Commerce Committee also promised an investigation.
Two Senate Democrats called on Southwest to provide “significant” compensation for stranded travelers, saying the airline has the money because it plans to pay $428 million in dividends next month.
With Post wires
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