Flight cancellations wreak havoc n US airports – Saudi Gazette

Flight cancellations wreak havoc n US airports – Saudi Gazette

WASHINGTON — Thousands of travellers are stranded at airports across the US as flight cancellations and delays continue to wreak havoc amid a deadly winter storm.

By mid-afternoon eastern time on Tuesday, nearly 4,900 flights had been cancelled and over 4,400 delayed.

Over 60% of the cancellations were from hard-hit Southwest Airlines, which called off over 2,500 flights.

The chaos has left thousands of exasperated passengers sleeping in terminals as they search for solutions.

More than 3,500 flights scheduled to leave Wednesday have already been cancelled, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

Southwest spokesperson Jay McVey on Monday said that the cancellations and delays had a cascading impact across the airline's network.

"We've been chasing our tails, trying to catch up and get back to normal safely, which is our number one priority, as quickly as we could," he said. "That's exactly how we ended up where we are today."

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has said that it is "concerned by Southwest's unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays [and] reports of lack of prompt customer service."

In a tweet on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said that his administration is "working to ensure airlines are held accountable" for disruptions. He urged that passengers check to see