GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Airline passengers nationwide were left without hope of getting to their destination on Tuesday as Southwest canceled thousands of flights across the country.
According to the flight analysis database FlightAware, the airline canceled more than 2,500 flights on Dec. 27 alone.
At Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Southwest passengers were also met with numerous flight cancellations.
Traveling back to California, passenger Maggie Frace said that the troubles of her flight cancellation were compounded by the rebooking process.
"It was going back to the desk a lot," Frace said. "We went back three or four times just to be like, 'Is this an option, what is happening?,' and what they described was basically that they had a bunch of people call out of work, and then they had delays. Now, they're doing a hard reset for their flights."
Amid the day's confusion and frustration, fellow traveler Rob Hughes arrived in Grand Rapids after having to drive more than 20 hours with his family from Orlando, Florida.
"We had heard all of the blizzards that West Michigan was experiencing, arrived to the airport, checked in, we're told everything was on time and we found that to not be the case," Hughes said. "Unfortunately, our flight got canceled. We were waiting in the terminal for over eight hours."
Among those having to grapple with unexpected travel alterations was the Rockford Marching Band, who are scheduled to participate in the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 2 in Pasadena, California.
Band Director Brian Phillips confirmed that one of the group's three flights scheduled for the morning of Dec. 29 was canceled. The flight was one of two Southwest flights the group had booked, while the third was with United Airlines.
Phillips later confirmed that the group had since secured alternative travel to the event via chartered flights.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has publicly stated that it will look into the mass cancellations to determine whether they align with the company's public policy.