SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Winter storm-related cancellations and delays that bogged down holiday travel lingered into this week at Bay Area airports, mostly on Southwest Airlines flights.
At SFO, a line of cars could be seen heading into the airport at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 Monday morning. Nationwide, there have been widespread cancellations and delays due to the freezing weather experienced across the Midwest, Plains and East Coast.
As of 12 p.m. Monday, locally, there were:
- SFO: 73 canceled flights
- Oakland: 146 canceled flights
- Mineta San Jose International: 129 canceled flights
Nationwide, there were over 3,500 cancellations within, into, or out of the United States, FlightAware reported.
Last week this was an issue for people trying to make it to their destinations for the holidays. Now, it’s happening for many travelers who are trying to get home.
Southwest Airlines, one of the major carriers serving Bay Area airports experiencing problems, tweeted that it was experiencing high call and social inquiry volumes and advised travelers to check their flight status. Airports are also advising travelers to contact airlines online or via the app prior to heading to the airport.
“Given how disruptive the weather was to pre-Christmas travel across the county, I expect it will still be several days before airlines are able to catch up and reset,” said Scott Wintner, airport deputy director for marketing and communications at Minets San Jose airport.
Most cancellations, both nationwide and at Bay Area airports, were flights on Southwest, which was heavily impacted by Winter Storm Elliott, airport officials said. Over the holiday weekend, storms forced thousands of cancellations on the airline.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
