'This forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity.' 'We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S,' the company said. The company was working to address its issues 'by rebalancing the airline and repositioning crews,' the statement said. In a statement Friday afternoon, Southwest apologized for the cancellations and called them 'unacceptable.' The city of Houston also was providing buses to passengers looking to leave the airport, officials said. In particular, the company's system of reassigning pilots and crews to new flights didn't have enough people to answer the phones and move the employees, officials said. The company said it would also pay for hotel rooms, rental cars and transportation for people stranded in Houston for the week.ĭuring a press briefing Monday night, a Southwest Airlines representative said the company was overwhelmed by flight cancellations caused by last week's winter storm.

People in line were encouraged to go home if they live in Houston. At 6:40 p.m., Southwest announced it would not be able to rebook flights until Dec. The cancellation caused hundreds of people to wait in line to try to rebook their flights. Nationally, the company canceled 2,700 flights Friday. All of the canceled flights were Southwest planes, according to the website. That's in addition to the more than 215 flights to and from Hobby Airport canceled Monday. More than 150 flights to and from Hobby Airport were canceled Tuesday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Iconic Port Isabel lighthouse shining brightly for first time in 117 years

There have been no disturbances reported at the airport, Bernal said. Houston Airports spokesman Augusto Bernal said the emergency was called because of the number of people in the airport terminals and in baggage claim.

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