BOISE, Idaho — Southwest Airlines has canceled 26 of their flights for post-Christmas travels in and out of Boise on Tuesday, according to FlightAware statistics for Gowen Field.
This is the second day Southwest has issued a wave of cancellations.
Southwest is also reportedly canceling 24 Boise flights Wednesday, and another 18 on Thursday, according to FlightAware.
According to Southwest's post on Twitter, the cancellations mostly revolve around winter storm concerns -- although other airlines like United and Delta are keeping their flights as scheduled.
Southwest seems to be the one that is cancelling the most flights. In a press release, the airline apologized and said that the weather has impacted customers and employees.
However, unions for flight staff and pilots have stated that IT infrastructure is to blame, specifically an outdated scheduling system.
Further, the apology from the company doesn't really help the thousands of people that are stranded though. Some people are being told that they can't get on another flight for three to four days and there have been reports of luggage piling up at airports.
Many travelers are unhappy -- some replied to Southwest Airlines' tweets, describing the hardships they've faced in trying to get to their destination.
One woman on Twitter said that Southwest canceled her daughter's flight, charged her to get her bags back for another flight, and then canceled it again.
Another tweet said there was a lack of staff on the ground and in the plane to assist with concerns travelers were having.
Some even tweeted they were on hold with Southwest for hours, and then the phones were suddenly disconnected.
The U.S Department of Transportation said on Twitter that they are "concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service" and will be examining Southwest's procedures and policies.
60% of Southwest flights nationwide on both Tuesday and Wednesday were canceled, according to the Associated Press. Nearly 10% of Thursday's flights nationwide by Southwest were also canceled -- an extremely reduced week for the airline.
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