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ST. Louis, Mo. (KMOV) – Southwest Airlines passengers in St. Louis are expressing frustration with flight cancellations, delays and complaints about lost baggage.
Long lines of passengers could be spotted at Lambert Airport Terminal 2 on Monday morning for ticketing. Similar scenes were spotted at airports across the country as flights from the South West were delayed and cancelled. Customers have also reported issues getting refunds.
“I stood in line for 40 minutes trying to reach someone last night. The line wasn’t moving so I just said, ‘forget it we’ll try this morning.’ I’ve already waited in line for two hours this morning and probably have a few more hours just to talk to someone to try and get a flight in. I can already see my destination Columbus they’ve already canceled two flights this morning so I don’t even know when I’m going home,” said traveler Anthony Oglesby, who was in Terminal 2 at Lambert Airport.
St. Louis resident Bill Bell had his flight from the southwest to Phoenix canceled on Friday. Bell was re-booked for a flight on Monday and spent hours queuing at the counter after that flight was also cancelled.
“We came back today and just as we got to the airport they canceled our flight,” Bell says. We went downstairs to get our bags. They won’t let go of our luggage. They’ll send it to Phoenix and then send it back and we can come back to the airport to pick it up.
The problem travelers tell News 4 is that flights continue to be canceled, leaving visitors like Oglesby stranded in St. Louis, while unable to change their flights online.
Oglesby spent 45 minutes waiting in line Sunday night after his flight to Columbus was canceled before leaving Lambert and returning Monday morning. On Monday morning, he again spent hours queuing.
Oglesby missed work on Monday and says he can’t miss another. If Southwest doesn’t have another flight to Columbus, he plans to return to Ohio.
“At this point, I’ll probably try to get my bags back to Columbus,” Oglesby says. “There is nothing critical in that.”
Meanwhile, people at the airport were waiting in a separate line to try and collect baggage they had already checked in. The baggage claim queue also had people like Mark Stuckey waiting for hours.
“You sign up to tell them your flight was canceled, but I don’t understand,” Stuckey says. They should know that. Then, after that, all luggage is saved. It seems very inefficient. I don’t understand why someone can’t let people go back there, find their luggage, check their ID and check their tag.
Stuckey’s family of eight were supposed to fly to Florida, but after that flight was canceled they are desperate to get their nine bags back.
“We’ve even thought about trying to drive because we’re going to be there for a week but unable to drive because we don’t have luggage,” Stuckey says. We’re just a little stuck. It kind of ruined our whole Christmas vacation.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines sent the following statement:
Although I don’t have numbers for the specific airports where we operate, we are still experiencing network disruptions due to the lingering effects of winter storm Elliott on our entire operations. With the weather now much more favorable, we continue to work to stabilize and improve our operations.
We are welcoming as many Customers as possible, depending on the places available, whose itineraries have been disrupted. Those whose flights have been canceled can request a full refund or receive a flight credit, which does not expire. Information for customers who have lost their luggage is here: https://www.southwest.com/help/baggage/lost-damaged-baggage. Customers can also speak with a representative at the Baggage Service Desk at an airport where we operate or contact Southwest Customer Service.
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