DENVER – A ruined honeymoon. A missed birthday. A ski trip hanging in the balance.
The Southwest Airlines collapse continued on Tuesdaywith more than 60% of all flights canceled, the second consecutive day of mass cancellations at Denver International Airport.
Denver airport had the most cancellations of any airline of any U.S. airport on Tuesday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware. The Southwest canceled about 2,600 flights nationwide on Tuesday, and about 2,400 more were canceled on Wednesday.
About 1,000 people slept at the airport overnight on Monday, clutching blankets and free bottles of water handed out by airport workers trying to help Southwest passengers cope, the gate said -airport spokesperson, Alex Renteria.
As of Monday evening, around 10,000 bags were waiting to be processed by the airlines, she said.
During South West baggage claim on Tuesday, Christmas music played as thousands of people struggled to determine options, weaving their way through rows of suitcases, child car seats and ski equipment.
At one point, a Southwest customer service agent made an announcement to people trying to find their bags: “Go home. They’ll come back eventually, I promise.
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Ryan Williams and his wife, Kassie Novakovich, woke up at 3 a.m. Tuesday hoping their long-awaited honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico would happen. But despite being told it was scheduled all morning, Southwest canceled the flight about two hours after they left.
The two returned to baggage claim, waiting in a two-hour line to file a report on their luggage, which potentially went to Houston.
“I’m out of underwear,” Williams said. “All my underwear is in my bag.”
After queuing to check in their missing bags, Williams and Novakovich said they plan to fly home. They had looked for alternative flights on United to nearby Cancun – $2,000 for one person, one way.
They returned home, honeymoon plans ruined. Southwest told them it could take 30 days for their bags to come back, Novakovich said.
“We just want our bags,” she said.
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Lindsey Kirkland, 28, was scheduled to fly to Nevada from Denver on Tuesday morning for a friend’s birthday ski trip. She took a $100 Uber to DIA and was told her flight to the southwest had been canceled because no flight attendant was available.
“I just don’t understand why this is still happening. It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Kirkland flew home to Denver from Nashville on Monday and said flight attendants were offering people up to $1,300 to delay their trip: “They brought the wrong size plane and they wanted people to get off .”
Kirkland concluded on Tuesday that her luck had run out – after her successful return flight on Monday, she thought things might get back on track. But when she arrived at the gate on Tuesday morning, Southwest canceled her flight and told everyone to go home. Kirkland then waited two hours to file a report on her bags.
“Yesterday I thought I was the luckiest person in the world. I guess they’re going to send my luggage to me via FedEx,” she said. “No estimated time of arrival.”
Tom Barham and his two sons arrived in Denver from Atlanta on Tuesday morning, but their bags loaded with ski gear didn’t catch the flight, likely because dropping off the bags at the curb took two hours, did he declare.
After standing in line for more than two hours, Barham said Southwest told him their bags were expected to arrive later in the day, inexplicably from Houston.
“We have hope,” said Barham, 59.
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A lucky few have had smooth travel experiences.
Crystal Griffin, 57, took her daughter to Los Angeles for Christmas to visit family and returned mid-morning on Tuesday. Although their flight to the southwest was delayed by about 45 minutes, she said things went smoothly.
But as she waited for their checked bags to arrive at the carousel, she reserved final judgment, she said with a laugh.
“Some people have been stuck in airports since Sunday, so I’m grateful,” said Griffin, a school nutrition worker.
A few yards away, Mariah Burke, 28, wheeled her family’s suitcases to her husband, Kevin, and their dog Willow.
“It’s a Christmas miracle,” she proclaimed, after their flight to southwest Phoenix arrived safely. “I mean, look at this nightmare.”
Aside from the Southwest collapse, DIA was otherwise operating smoothly on Tuesday, Renteria said. The airport had worked with its restaurant tenants to extend hours to serve people who stayed at their gates overnight, and travelers were being given blankets and bottles.
The airport typically sees around 76,000 passengers pass through its TSA checkpoints daily. Southwest is its second largest carrier, behind United.
“We understand this is such a frustrating situation,” Renteria told USA TODAY. “It’s really important that people give others grace and patience because it affects everyone.”
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