'Completely Unacceptable': Southwest Delays Thousands of Flights Due to 'Technological Issue' The airline infamously canceled over 70% of its flights during the holiday season in 2022.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
After the 2022 holiday season, when Southwest Airlines canceled nearly 70% of flights due to inclement weather and left customers stranded (and many without their luggage for weeks), CEO Bob Jordan said it will "never happen again." The fiasco cost the company an estimated $1 billion and dampened its reputation with loyal customers.
This week, however, Southwest Airlines faced another problem.
On Wednesday, computer outages and a software malfunction caused more than a thousand Southwest Airlines flights to be delayed. Customers also reported being unable to check in for their flights on the airline's mobile app.
Related: 'It Will Never Happen Again': Southwest Airlines CEO Says Last Christmas' Disaster Is in the Past
"Southwest Airlines has resolved a brief technology issue that was caused by a power outage at one of our data centers in the Dallas area this afternoon," the company explained in a statement. "We apologize to our customers and appreciate their patience as we work to get them to their destinations as quickly and safely as possible."
According to FlightAware, Southwest delayed a total of 1,515 flights Wednesday — 192 flights are still delayed as of Thursday morning.
Some customers reported delay times of up to 10 hours before boarding, plus additional delays on the tarmac.
@SouthwestAir worst airline ever! 8 hours to go from Chicago to LGA! Finally made it to LGA and now it's been almost 1 hour and not 1 bag has come out. This airline is a joke!
— Michele Glassberg (@MicheleGla55520) May 30, 2024
Sitting here on the tarmac in San Antonio because @SouthwestAir is having computer problems. Again?
— NativeTexan (@peaklover16) May 29, 2024
Hey @SouthwestAir what's going on with your app/site? I can't see any of my upcoming trips and I have to check in to a flight in a couple hours.
— Amy Shahenian (@amykate1971) May 29, 2024
"Without a doubt, delays are frustrating for everyone involved, especially our Customers," Southwest told customers in response to complaints on X. "We apologize for the inconvenience."
Last month, Jordan hinted that the airline might be changing its infamous boarding process — the airline does not allow assigned seats before boarding begins — and other changes aimed at cutting costs amid ongoing trouble with Boeing that's resulted in Southwest receiving less than half of the 737 Max 8 aircraft it had anticipated this year.
Related: Southwest Airlines makes big operational changes after 2024 financial report
Southwest had a strong Q1 2024, bringing in $6.3 billion in operating revenue which was a 10.9% increase year over year.
Southwest Airlines was down around 13% year over year as of Thursday morning.
