By: Naomi Etienne and Emma Schwarz

Winter break has been extended due to Southwest Airline’s malfunctioning. As people around the country travel to places around the globe during their break, their flights are getting put on pause. 

One major reason vacations have been cut short or extended is internet malfunctions. Alongside the Southwest Airlines issues, several other airline companies have been shut down due to extreme weather conditions.  

A few Mount Hebron students were asked how their winter breaks had been altered by these travel mishaps. Junior Riya Nair shared how her winter break was cut short. “We were supposed to get to ATL Saturday night and we got there Tuesday,” she stated.

Not only did Southwest have an issue with flights being delayed and canceled all over, but they also struggled to keep track of their passengers’ luggage. Nair told us she and her family were told they “couldn’t get our luggage, even though it was already at BWI” and they were told by the airline that “since it was already ‘processed’ it had to go on a flight to ATL”.

Southwest kept their passengers on their toes throughout their entire traveling experiences. Travelers like Mt. Hebron junior Sasha Reneier had no idea whether they would be able to get to their destinations, or how they would get back home. “Our flight to Colorodo was delayed 7 hours, and our flight back was canceled,” stated Renier. 

Although in an unprecedented situation, Renier shared that his family “managed to find other flights.” Southwest provided assistance amid all of this chaos and helped people find other flights and possible hotels if there were no other options available. 

This whole fiasco took a toll on Southwest fliers’ emotional well-being, it seems. Nair stated that “the flight cancellation was very stressful and exhausting.”

People across the country hope that Southwest and every other airline learn from these mistakes and place better and more organized protocols if this happens again. Better protocols would have potentially saved many people the trouble and exhaustion that these issues created.