Southwest Air meltdown extends to HNL with dozens of flights delayed, canceled for another day

Travel chaos continues to be felt across the country, including Hawaii.
Published: Dec. 27, 2022 at 4:49 PM HST|Updated: Dec. 27, 2022 at 5:51 PM HST

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Travel chaos continues to be felt across the country, including Hawaii.

Nearly 3,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled on Tuesday as the fallout from a winter storm continues. Southwest passengers are by far the hardest hit, with the CEO apologizing to travelers for the mess.

At Honolulu’s airport Tuesday, there were 34 cancelations and 100 delays.

Of those, 22 cancelations were on Southwest and the airline reported 42 delays.

One passenger said he ended up sleeping at the airport overnight.

Another family was hoping to get on a plane today after their flight was rebooked.

“Very disappointed, to be honest,” said passenger Shane Davis, who was flying to California.

“They didn’t give me a reason. They just said here you go. And in the mix of all that my bags got lost.”

Quinn Tin, who is flying to California, had a backup plan if Southwest canceled again: “My backup plan is to book another flight from American Airlines to go back to LAX because I can’t afford to be here any longer.”

Many passengers say they’re also having a hard time finding their bags.

Southwest Airlines says they are making every attempt to reconnect baggage with their owners.

In a video posted online, CEO Robert Jordan said Southwest would operate a reduced schedule for several days but hoped to be “back on track before next week.”