AUSTIN, Texas — Southwest Airlines is in the hot seat after canceling 70% of its flights on Monday, forcing some to sleep days at Austin's airport.
At Austin's airport on Monday, there were many faces of frustration.
"I was trying to go to Tampa, Florida, to see my dad and my brothers, my sister," said Darius Bailey.
Instead, Bailey spent Christmas alone.
"One was on a flight to go to Denver," said Bailey. "That one got canceled."
He is stuck in what seems like a never-ending layover. Bailey said he has been at AUS for three days after Southwest canceled his flight seven times.
"I've just been sitting here sleeping on the ground," said Bailey. "I only ate like three times through these three days to try and save money because I didn't know how long I was going to be out here."
Neither did the airline. Southwest blamed recent winter weather and scheduling issues.
Unclaimed and lost luggage littered baggage claim, and lines of confusion stretched through the airport.
"I'm in line and they say, 'Oh no, your flight's delayed to 5:09, and then the guy comes out, 'No, all of them are canceled,'" said Kim Evinda Lepins. "Like, which one is it? The left one doesn't know what the right hand is doing."
Evinda Lepins said she tried to find another way out, but flights to California through other airlines cost more than $2,000.
"You want to take advantage of somebody, you know, disadvantage," said Evinda Lepins. "That's ridiculous."
She did get lucky, whereas many did not.
"Rent a car and go drive home," said Evinda Lepins. "It's a 24-hour drive, but I have to. I got to get home."
Getting home to El Paso will take longer for Bailey.
"They gave me another flight that's not until the 30th," said Bailey.
That's four more days stranded, left with just a $200 travel voucher from the airline.
"I have no idea how to even use it," said Bailey.
"It's insanity. Never again the day after Christmas," added Evinda Lepins.
Through the tears, Evinda Lepins held onto the giving spirit, helping Bailey get through his unwanted stay by handing him some cash.
"It's the least I can do," said Evinda Lepins. "You know what I mean? Somebody's situation is always worse than your own."
While Southwest is giving refunds, customers on Monday said you could only do it over the phone, which was nearly impossible with the high call volume. On Tuesday, the airline implemented a site for customers to contact Southwest to rebook or request a refund: southwest.com/traveldisruption/
Southwest Airlines statement:
"With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.
"And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.
"We're working with Safety at the forefront to urgently address wide-scale disruption by rebalancing the airline and repositioning Crews and our fleet ultimately to best serve all who plan to travel with us.
"We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S. These operational conditions forced daily changes of an unprecedented volume and magnitude to our flight schedule and the tools our teams use to recover the airline remain at capacity.
"This safety-first work is intentional, ongoing, and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences. As we continue the work to recover our operation, we have made the decision to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days. And we're working to reach Customers whose travel plans will change to offer specific information and available options, also available at Southwest.com/traveldisruption.
"Our Employees and Crews scheduled to work this holiday season are showing up in every single way. We are beyond grateful for that. Our shared goal is to take care of every single Customer with the Hospitality and Heart for which we're known.
"On the other side of this, we'll work to make things right for those we've let down, including our Employees.
"With no concern higher than ultimate Safety, the People of Southwest share a goal to take care of each and every Customer. We recognize falling short and sincerely apologize."