Mass Southwest Flight Cancelations Strand Passengers At LAX

LOS ANGELES, CA — Thousands of travelers are stranded in the wake of mass Southwest Airlines flight cancelations stemming from far flung weather events and air traffic control issues.

More than a thousand Southwest flights have been delayed since Saturday, leaving many people stranded at Los Angeles International Airport. Southwest travelers are advised to check the status of their flight before heading to LAX, Hollywood Burbank Airport and Long Beach Airport. The cancelations came just days after the outline announced an employee vaccine mandate, prompting unconfirmed rumors that the cancelations were the result of a sickout staged by disgruntled employees.

However, the airline’s pilot union and Southwest denied the rumors.

"(Air Traffic Control) issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation," the airline announced. "We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual."

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights, or 28% of its scheduled flights, as of 2 p.m. Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. By comparison, Allegiant Airlines canceled 5% of its flights over the same time period, and Spirit airlines canceled 4% of its flights.

American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights, according to the tracker.

There were 367 Southwest Airlines flights canceled as of 8:15 a.m. Monday, according to FlightAware.com. There were at least 1,800 Southwest Airline flights canceled nationwide over the weekend -- and more than 1,000 flights canceled on Sunday, according to Fox 11.

In an emailed statement reported by the L.A. Times, Southwest Airlines said it had experienced weather challenges in its Florida airports at the beginning of the weekend, and had unexpected air traffic control issues in the same region.

Those challenges led to delays and cancellations for Southwest Airlines beginning Friday.

Southwest Airlines said it is directing customers to use self-service rebooking options on Southwest.com, where updates on the status of their travel plans are available.

“To be honest, I’m not real happy. I’m a little bit sad and I’m really worried because I’m out of my medication,” Debbie Day, a Southwest traveler stranded at LAX for two days told KCAL9. “To be honest, I’m not real happy. I’m a little bit sad and I’m really worried because I’m out of my medication.”

City News Service and Patch Staff Patcher Paige Austin contributed to this report.