Canceled. Canceled. Canceled. Southwest meltdown brings holiday misery to airports

Californians with trip envy had a surefire remedy this week: All they needed to do was take a look at the scene at any airport.

The meltdown at Southwest Airways left tens of 1000’s of vacationers stranded, many with out baggage or a clue as to once they would get to their locations, or how.

At Los Angeles Worldwide and Hollywood Burbank airports Tuesday, the strains — for info, for makes an attempt to rebook, for rental automobiles — snaked for hours. Departure boards all instructed the identical surprising story: Canceled. Canceled. Canceled.

Lengthy-planned household reunions, holidays, work conferences, medical appointments: all canceled.

1000’s of individuals at each airports sat amid a flotilla of baggage, attempting to determine what to do.

Amongst them had been Luis and Ruth Hernandez and their Yorkshire terrier Sissi, who was festive in a Christmas sweater. The Hernandezes, slumped collectively on a curb outdoors the Southwest terminal at LAX, had been attempting to get to Omaha to go to their daughter and grandchildren. However their connecting flight in Phoenix had been canceled. Fairly than danger being stranded in Arizona, the couple determined to rebook, solely to be taught that the earliest flight is Sunday.

“Sissi was additionally going to see her household,” Ruth Hernandez mentioned, noting that two different Yorkies had been ready for the trio in Nebraska.

The delay throws their plans into disarray. The grandchildren might be again at school by subsequent week, and relations who took break day might be again at work by the point the grandparents can get there.

“It actually screwed up all the things,” Luis Hernandez mentioned. “It’s a multitude,” added his spouse. Solely Sissi appeared unperturbed.

Throughout city, at Hollywood Burbank Airport, Roger and Jane Truesdale initially thought they had been among the many few fortunate ones whose flights had been going to take off.

Jane, 74, mentioned she had paid $60 for early entry and was delighted when she was in a position to test in for a Tuesday-morning flight dwelling to Denver.

Her delight lasted precisely quarter-hour. Then she bought a textual content from Southwest informing her that the flight had been canceled.

Not understanding what to do, she and her husband shuttled to Burbank airport anyway, hoping to reschedule. It did them no good: Airline officers knowledgeable the couple that the earliest flight they might get is Saturday.

That was a nonstarter for the couple, who had been visiting their son for the vacations and hadn’t packed sufficient treatment to final that lengthy.

They had been trying to find a method dwelling on different airways. By noon, they hadn’t discovered one.

Different marooned Southwest vacationers took to the roads.

Heather Dillion and her household awakened shortly after 4 a.m. Monday to make an early flight to Idaho out of John Wayne Airport in Orange County. However about half-hour earlier than the flight was set to take off, she seen that there was alarmingly little exercise on the boarding gate.

“A gate attendant got here onto the mic and mentioned one thing to the impact of, ‘I do know a number of you might be ready. We’re nonetheless ready for our crew. Simply assume constructive ideas,’” Dillion mentioned.

The trace of fear within the agent’s voice made Dillion assume that constructive ideas may not be sufficient to get the aircraft off the bottom.

Dillion, husband Blake and their 3-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter finally loaded their baggage and snacks into their truck and made the 18-hour drive to McCall, Idaho.

Dillon mentioned she was glad that they had completed so.

“All the pieces’s simply so irritating. And it’s so vital for us to get this day out within the contemporary air and with household and simply, you recognize, a second to pause,” she mentioned.

“We might have missed [the trip]. Certain,” she added. “However we’d have simply missed out. And we’d haven’t been with the entire household, and there’s simply a lot that’s occurred lately, in the previous couple of years, that we don’t take household time with no consideration once we can get it. Hey, we’ll drive 18 hours by the night time with two younger youngsters.”

In some instances, even individuals who drove lots of of miles couldn’t escape the airport.

Amy Davis, who lives in Indianapolis, left Indiana on Christmas Day en path to Burbank, with a cease in Phoenix.

When she bought to Phoenix, she realized that her connecting flight had been canceled.

Davis tried to rebook through Southwest’s customer support line however hung up after being on maintain for 2 hours. Then she was knowledgeable that the wait to talk with a Southwest agent on the airport can be 5 hours.

Davis mentioned she rented a automotive for $220 and reached a buddy’s home in Northridge on Monday afternoon.

“I imply, in case you’re going to attend 5 hours, I’d as properly drive,” she mentioned.

Her baggage, in the meantime, in some way made it to Burbank. She went to the airport Monday to attempt to accumulate it however was unsuccessful. She returned Tuesday — wearing an outfit unexpectedly bought at Walmart — to attempt once more.

After ready for 2 hours, Davis and a customer support consultant discovered her two suitcases piled among the many lots of stacked up at baggage declare. Shortly after that, her buddy picked her up, and the 2 headed off to rejoice Davis’ 52nd birthday.

“I assume you’ll be able to say this had a contented ending,” she mentioned.

Even for these prepared to pay for a rental automotive to drive lots of of miles to their locations, getting one on the airport was not straightforward.

The road on the Burbank automotive rental counter was 50 individuals deep Tuesday morning — not counting one other 100 or so ready inside and outdoors the ability.

Oakland resident Luisa Isbell, 31, took deep breaths and listened to music as she hit a 3rd hour outdoors the automotive rental station, simply after 11 a.m.

She mentioned she and her associate had endured a collection of flight cancellations earlier than deciding to drive dwelling to the Bay Space.

“It didn’t take lengthy to really lease a automotive, however we’ve been within the queue to select up a automotive now for hours,” Isbell mentioned.

The chaos rippled out from the airports. At a grocery retailer within the northern California city of Davis, a girl was stunned to run into buddy Emily Kim on Tuesday afternoon.

Kim and her household had been purported to be in New Orleans, however their flight had been canceled. Standing in entrance of the deli counter, Kim instructed her story — of a trip scuttled and hours on maintain. Her buddy spontaneously supplied up her household’s cabin in Lake Tahoe instead.

Few of the stranded had that kind of luck. However many tried to make the perfect of the state of affairs.

Andy Robinson of Denver spent Tuesday morning ready in line at LAX for a lodge voucher after his flight was canceled.

He and his household had come to Los Angeles to observe the Denver Broncos play the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The Broncos misplaced, 51-14.

“That simply added to our distress,” Robinson mentioned.

Nonetheless, he mentioned, “I’m attempting to take a look at it positively. I’m in California. I’m in flip-flops.”

Instances workers author Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.