Even when the passengers from thousands of canceled Southwest Airlines flights over the holidays finally get to their destinations, it is unclear if their luggage will make it too.
Photos flooded social media streams this week featuring piles of luggage and long lines were spotted in St. Louis, Mo.
“Luggage is piling up at airports all over the country as flight cancellations continue,” said TV news outlet KFVS. “This is a look inside St. Louis Lambert International Airport.”
It looked as if hundreds of bags were piled on the airport’s baggage carousel and on the floor. Axios cited a KSKD report that found there were hundreds of people in line at the airport. That line became so long that travelers were told to go home without their bags and wait for a phone call.
According to Axios, Southwest Airlines said in an email Thursday that it did not have specific lost luggage numbers to share.
“While Southwest continues to operate roughly one third of its schedule for Thursday, Dec. 29, we plan to return to normal operations with minimal disruptions on Friday, Dec. 30,” said the airline in a statement. “We are encouraged by the progress we've made to realign Crew, their schedules, and our fleet.”
As of 3:45 ET Thursday, Southwest accounted for 58% of all canceled flights reported by FlightAware with more than 2,300 cancellations. Nearly 3,000 were canceled Monday, more than 2,600 Tuesday and more than 2,500 Wednesday.
“Lots of luggage left behind amid the Southwest Airlines cancellations,” said a tweet from reporter Jen Borrasso. “I met a woman who drove from Chicago to Pittsburgh Int. Airport to pick up her and her husband’s bags. After three cancellations, they never made it to Pittsburgh for Christmas but their bags did.”
Southwest passenger Crystal Muñoz told USA Today this week that she had to go through 75 bags that were jammed together in order to find her family’s suitcases at Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii.
“It was a free for all and then they had to move them for another flight’s incoming luggage,” she said. “Anyone could have taken any bag.”
Although her family eventually made it to Maui, she said they ended up paying over $1,000 in extra costs.
“We know even our deepest apologies – to our Customers, to our Employees, and to all affected through this disruption – only go so far,” Southwest said Thursday.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, its regulations (for domestic travel) and international treaties (for international travel), require airlines to compensate passengers if their bags are damaged, delayed, or lost. Southwest passengers can also request refunds here.
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