Southwest Airlines: No rebooking until Dec. 31 at the earliest

TULSA, Okla. — Troubles with Southwest Airlines continue, as more than 2,000 flights are canceled for Tuesday.

The Dallas-based airline plans to dial back its flight schedule to get operations back on track. The airline announced Monday night that no one will be allowed to rebook flights until Dec. 31 at the earliest.

Bob Jordan, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, said the company plans to operate about 30 percent of its schedule to give crews the ability to get in the right position, and the reduced schedule could be extended.

Travelers are encouraged to book hotel rooms and wait for rebooking.

The U.S. Department of Transportation expressed its concern about the airline’s cancellations Monday evening and said it “will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”

The airline’s flight attendants said they’ve been unable to get hotel rooms for crew members who are sleeping in airports along with travelers.

The head of Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants Union said its a company issue.

“This is not a staffing issue. This is a systems issue. Southwest Airlines was staffed. Its employees were ready to go to work. But when they chose to take flights into the middle of the storm or not preemptively cancel enough flights, their systems have not been able to keep up with the rescheduling, the cancellations, the notifications to crew members about those cancellations and changes in flights,” said Lyn Montgomery, president of TWU Local 556 Southwest Airline Flight Attendants.