Another day of Southwest flight cancellations at CHS causing frustrations

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The board that shows the status of Southwest Airlines flights at Charleston International Airport was a sea of red on Tuesday. Every flight on the board was cancelled.

According to flight tracking site Flight Aware, 18 Southwest flights were cancelled today at Charleston International.

“It’s devastating because you have plans, you want to get home before New Year’s and it’s all unexpected,” Carol Iozzo, whose Southwest flight got cancelled, said. “You just have to have patience.”

The line for the airline’s ticket counter was wrapped around the check-in area, full of customers hoping to find new flights, get refunds, or find answers. Some say it was impossible to get through to an agent on the phone, so they had to drive to the airport in hopes of talking to someone in person.

“They’re canceling everything on us,” customer Jose Hernandez said. “They’re just making it really a hard time for the travelers and I’ve tried to call customer service and it’s literally on a busy tone. I’ve been calling them since like 9 a.m. this morning.”

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Some who couldn’t fly turned to driving. Live 5 asked rental car companies at CHS if the cancellations have impacted rental car availability. A spokesperson for Hertz said they’re working hard to serve thousands of customers whose plans have been disrupted by the severe weather, including those seeking one-way rentals due to flight cancellations.

Southwest Airlines released a statement Monday saying they are recovering from operational challenges.

They called the continuing challenges impacting customers and employees “unacceptable.”

In the statement, Southwest says they recognize falling short, and will work to make things right for those they’ve let down.

Flight Aware says 18 more Southwest flights are already cancelled for Wednesday, and eight more were cancelled on Thursday.

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