COLUMBUS, Ohio — Southwest Airlines canceled several hundred more flights Monday after 1,900 were canceled over the weekend.
The airline canceled more than 360 flights — 10% of its schedule for the day — on Monday, and more than 800 others were delayed.
Southwest and the union representing its pilots are refuting claims that the flights were canceled because of walkouts.
Instead, the airline says the problems stem from "disruptive weather" in Florida and air traffic control "issues”.
FAA said there were no staffing shortages that it was aware of.
For people like Lara Smith, who is attempting to travel from Spokane, Washington to Columbus, she’s now living in a hotel awaiting a flight.
“There's a reason I’m coming home it's my Mom's 85th birthday,” she said.
Smith is one of the thousands of Southwest passengers stuck because of the massive cancellations.
“At this point, they've paid more for my room than my ticket but these are my vacation days that they are eating up,” she said.
She was supposed to leave Saturday from Spokane when her flight was canceled.
“Sunday in the middle of the night about 1 a.m. I got another text message that it was canceled,” she said.
Smith says the airline re-booked her on a flight Monday only get canceled again.
She said she went to the airport in person Monday hoping to find a flight.
“Again, canceled rebooked for tomorrow,” she said.
Now she's worried about what will happen if she actually does get a flight to Columbus.
“I'm afraid of getting to Columbus and having the same four or five or six days getting home,” she said.
American Airlines has canceled 63 flights, or 2% of its operation, while Spirit Airlines canceled 32 flights, or 4% of its flights, according to FlightAware.