Southwest cancels thousands more U.S. flights on weather woes

By Trend

Southwest Airlines Co on Tuesday led U.S. airline cancellations again as the low-cost carrier struggled with harsh winter weather that grounded planes and left some workers unable to tend to jets, disrupting holiday travel for many, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The carrier had canceled 2,589 flights as of Tuesday 2.25 pm ET or roughly two-thirds of its schedule, representing 86% of all U.S. airline cancellations, according to tracking website FlightAware.

Additionally, Southwest called off about 2,500 flights scheduled for Wednesday and over 1,000 flights from its Thursday schedule.

Shares of Southwest fell as much as 6.3% to a two-month low of $33.81.

The airline's cancellations on Tuesday were 30 times more than those of Spirit Airlines (SAVE.N), the carrier with the second-most cancellations.

An arctic blast and a massive winter storm dubbed Elliott swept over much of the United States in the lead-up to the Christmas holiday weekend, forcing Southwest to scrap more than 12,000 flights since Friday.

The company has a more aggressive schedule than most other U.S. airlines and tighter turnaround times to accommodate its network that connects vast swathes of the country.