Reuters
NOS news•
The US Department of Transportation is investigating Southwest Airlines as the company continues to cancel flights due to cold weather in the US. While most other airlines canceled more than 2 percent of their flights today, Southwest canceled more than 60 percent of its scheduled flights.
Today, about 2,950 flights have been canceled in the US, and nearly 2,550 on Southwest. The US low-cost carrier, one of the world’s largest airlines, expects to be hit by the aftereffects of winter weather in the coming days. In the coming days, only one-third of flights are expected to continue as scheduled.
Customer service
The Department of Transportation is talking about an “unacceptable number of cancellations” and is investigating the extent to which Southwest could have prevented those cancellations. The ministry is also investigating whether the airline follows its own customer service guidelines following reports of poor customer service.
Passengers complain of long queues at airports and inaccessibility of service staff:
Passengers angry at Southwest Airlines: ‘I can’t fly till December 30’
A Southwest spokesperson said many of the company’s employees and aircraft were stranded in various parts of the country due to the winter weather. “We’re very busy with that, trying to catch up and get back to normal in a safe way,” he says.
It is prohibited to go on the road
Although winter weather has passed its peak in the US, snow and ice warnings have been issued for many parts of the country. For example, in Buffalo, the second largest city in New York state, the road is prohibited. According to local officials, many residents of the city are flouting the ban. That’s why agents and soldiers have been sent to Buffalo to enforce it.
The US National Weather Service expects snowfall in New York to continue today. “There is still snow now, but it is nothing compared to what has fallen in recent days,” says a meteorologist at the Met Office. He adds that it will warm up quickly after today. Temperatures may rise to 8 degrees Celsius on Thursday.
New York State has been hit by heavy snowstorms for the past few days. Especially in and around Buffalo, buildings were covered in layers of snow and ice:
US city of Buffalo covered in snow: ‘It’s dangerous to be outside’
At least 30 people have died in the Buffalo area as a result of the wintry weather, according to local officials. Among them are those who died because aid workers could not reach them in time due to cold weather.
In total, there have been about sixty weather-related deaths in the United States in recent days.