SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A sea of yellow filled the departures and arrivals screens at San Diego International Airport Tuesday.
The yellow was next to Southwest flights that had been delayed. Before noon, at least 50 Southwest flights had been delayed going to or from San Diego. Only one flight showed up as canceled on the screens.
The flights were part of more than 1,800 that were delayed nationwide after the airline paused flights due to what it said was an issue with a firewall failure.
"I've never experienced this with Southwest. I've always had a good experience with them, so I'm kind of like in shock and kind of upset at the same time… I've had the worst experience on this vacation,” said Miriam Duran, a Southwest passenger who was traveling to Oregon.
Southwest said in a statement Tuesday’s flight delays were in no way related to the December event that saw thousands stranded.
Some travelers like Kyle Siems said Tuesday’s delays felt like déjà vu.
“We were trapped in St Louis for seven days over Christmas, and we're using our flight credit from that trip to go to Hawaii right now.”
Southwest’s guidelines allow delayed passengers to be rebooked on another flight free of charge with the airline. They are also entitled to a meal or a voucher when their delay is over three hours, and if they are delayed overnight, the airline will provide hotel accommodations.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Tuesday saying the department was watching to ensure that Southwest Airlines takes care of passengers.
“Any customer not getting the accommodations or refunds they are owed should notify us through our website, and we'll follow up.”
With files from ABC 10News reporter Natay Holmes
