Southwest, Other Airline Cancellations At Tampa Airport Continue

TAMPA, FL — Dozens of flights flying in or out of the Tampa Bay International Airport were canceled or delayed Tuesday as much of the country recovers from a once-in-a-lifetime winter storm that continues to snarl holiday travel plans.

As of Tuesday morning, nearly 110 flights departing or bound for the Tampa Bay airport had been canceled while another 75 flights were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

At Sarasota-Bradenton airport, 29 flights were canceled in the past 24 hours.

Nationally, more than 2,900 flights within, into, or out of the United States Tuesday were canceled. More than 2,500 of those flights were with Southwest Airlines. Following the mass cancellations, Southwest Airlines said Tuesday it would operate roughly a third of its schedule over the next several days.

• RELATED: Southwest Cancellations Continue Into Tuesday After Christmas Holiday

In Tampa, 94 Southwest Airlines flights — or 64 percent of the airline's flights — were canceled Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com.

Wednesday doesn't look better — 104 flights are grounded, or 73 percent of its schedule, WTSP reported.

The continued cancellations come following an even larger series of cancellations the day after Christmas. On Monday, 3,989 flights were canceled, 2,909 of which were Southwest flights. Smaller airports, such as Palm Springs International and Ontario International in Southern California showed flights were "hit or miss" as the airline struggled to run roughly 30% of its fleet Tuesday morning.

Scenes from airports shared on social media showed bags piled up at airports across the country as customers were left stranded. Customers also faced long hold times when trying to reach Southwest Airlines over the phone.

"Due to adverse weather events and their resulting effects, we are currently experiencing operational disruptions and are working diligently and safely to restore normal flight schedules as quickly as possible," the airline wrote in an advisory on its website.

In Tampa, hundreds of bags were seen in the claim area Monday and Tuesday while stranded passengers wondered what happened to their checked luggage, WTSP reported.

Kay Nowak, a Spring Hill resident who was unable to fly to Chicago this Christmas, told WTSP her luggage somehow made the trip.

"I’m 83 years old and I’ve traveled a lot of Christmases — and this is the worst," Nowak told the station.

In an update Monday, Southwest Airlines said it was fully staffed and prepared for the holiday weekend when the severe weather hit.

Southwest Airlines added that customers could get their tickets refunded, but warned those who plan to immediately rebook that availability is limited.

"All customers traveling through January 2, 2023, are able to rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of your original date of travel between the original city-pairs and in accordance with our accommodation procedures) without paying additional charges; please know available inventory is limited during the holidays. Learn more," Southwest said Tuesday.