Texas family stuck at RDU still living Southwest Airlines nightmare

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — Main issues with an FAA Air Visitors Management pc system on Monday triggered hours-long flight delays out and in of Florida.

Greater than 1,600 flights have been delayed and greater than 160 have been canceled.

It comes as issues stemming from that Southwest Airways meltdown stretched into a brand new week (and new 12 months) together with for households at Raleigh-Durham Worldwide Airport.

At RDU, what was anticipated to be a busy journey day grew to become much more sophisticated by chaos in Florida. For Southwest, nonetheless coping with final week’s mess and scores of luggage, it meant much more complications.

Individuals have been nonetheless coming to say luggage left at RDU after final week’s fiasco, and a few folks have been nonetheless attempting to get house.

“They only say it isn’t their fault, and that is just about it and we’re caught right here,” stated Alex Argueta.

Argueta has had sufficient and simply needs to go house to Houston.

“I’ve an 8-month, 2-year-old and 5-year-old,” he stated. “And it is powerful attempting to journey with them.”

His mother-in-law, like so many others, was at Terminal 1 at RDU by the Southwest Airways baggage workplace.

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It is the place so many vacationers have been coming within the final week to get luggage that have been caught in transit with the airline’s meltdown.

Argueta and his household got here right here on Dec. 22 and have been supposed to depart on Dec. 28 however could not get rebooked till Monday.

They arrived at RDU and discovered as soon as once more that their flight was canceled.

“It is ridiculous,” Argueta stated. “I imply, they’re saying they’ve a flight tomorrow that they are not even guaranteeing we’re going to have the ability to truly catch it and catch our subsequent flight.”

The Arguetas have been on the telephone with Southwest for 3 hours after which stated they have been hung up on. A earlier name with the airline lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

The household has seemed a renting a automotive.

“It is a danger that we’re doubtless going to take,” Argueta stated. I needed to be at work, I’ve missed work, she’s missed work.”

They’re additionally nonetheless lacking two luggage, and so they must go purchase automotive seats for the youngsters to soundly drive again.

“Southwest is simply … I’ve no phrases for them as a result of they are not keen to do something,” Argueta stated.

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The Arguetas are out of pocket for lots and their 5-year-old baby is beginning college later this week.

“We have been caught with no garments, no footwear, simply just about what we had on, that is what we had,” Argueta stated. “I’ve three youngsters and there are three adults, so we did not don’t have any baggage … I do not know the place it is at, so we got here to the purpose the place we did not actually care the place it was at, simply had a few of our stuff again.”

Southwest’s CEO stated on GMA final week that that is one thing they’ve by no means seen within the airline’s 50-plus years, and that passengers ought to count on refunds for tickets and bills.