Sea of luggage, stranded passengers as Southwest Airlines mass-cancels flights at US airport. Video

A video showed hundreds of suitcases placed on the floor at the baggage claim area. (Image credit: Screengrab from video tweeted by @10NewsAcevedo)

Southwest Airlines in the United States cancelled 2,886 flights on Monday, or 70 per cent of scheduled flights as the country witnesses massive disruptions in flights due to the fierce winter.

The airline reportedly cancelled most its flights at the airport in San Diego, California on Monday, leaving thousands of people stranded. To add to the trauma, passengers had to wait hours to get their luggage.
“People are told find their bags in these piles. Several are in tears,” tweeted Laura Acevedo, a reporter with ABC 10News San Diego.

A video she tweeted showed hundreds of suitcases placed on the floor at the baggage claim area, near the conveyer belt.

#SOUTHWEST NIGHTMARE: All flights leaving San Diego tonight are canceled, announcement just now over the intercom says the airline is “frozen and not able to assist with rebooking.” People are told find their bags in these piles. Several are in tears. @10News pic.twitter.com/cpUfblhV5t

— Laura Acevedo (@10NewsAcevedo) December 27, 2022

Southwest Airlines had the most significant number of cancellation, prompting the US government authorities to call it “unacceptable”, news agency Reuters reported.

I asked an employee how they verify who takes what bag and was told “we don’t, we’ll randomly ask for baggage claim proof.” She told be bags will stay out all night, monitored by employees. People don’t know when or how they’ll make it home. Story at 11p.m. @10News

— Laura Acevedo (@10NewsAcevedo) December 27, 2022

The airline has also cancelled 60 per cent, or over 2,400, of its Tuesday flights.

"USDOT is concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay," Reuters quoted the statement from the US Transportation Department.

It said it would "closely examine whether cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest is complying with its customer service plan as well as all other pertinent DOT (department of transport) rules."

The majority of US flight cancellations have so far been at Chicago O'Hare or Denver, both international hubs.

The extreme cold wave conditions have been caused by a phenomenon called a "bomb cyclone". This event occurs when there is a collision between a warm and a cold one air mass, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)