U.S. Southwest's meltdown draws federal scrutiny as passengers remain stranded: media

Travelers wait at the check-in counters of Southwest Airlines at Dallas Love Field Airport in Dallas, Texas, the United States, Dec. 17, 2021. (Photo by Guangming Li/Xinhua)

The issues stem from the carrier's unique "point to point" model, in which planes tend to fly from destination to destination without returning to one or two main hubs.

NEW YORK, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the meltdown at Southwest Airlines, one of the worst that industry observers have seen in decades, entered yet another day on Wednesday, irate customers remained stranded, separated from their families and some still carrying Christmas gifts they planned to deliver days ago, reported The New York Times.

There was no relief early Wednesday: Southwest had canceled more than 2,500 flights, or 62 percent of its planned flights for the day, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking service. The company has said it could be days until the knots are untangled and normal service resumes.

"Southwest's operational configuration, which differs from most other major carriers, has come under intense scrutiny after a winter storm last week disrupted travel plans across the United States," said the report.

Southwest has been uniquely unable to get its planes back in the air after the storm, while thousands of customers have been left stranded and struggling to rebook, the report noted.

In total, nearly 11,000 Southwest flights have been canceled since Thursday, according to FlightAware.

Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, said in an interview on "NBC Nightly News" Tuesday that it was "an unacceptable situation" that would demand a closer look at Southwest's scheduling system.

The issues stem from the carrier's unique "point to point" model, in which planes tend to fly from destination to destination without returning to one or two main hubs. Most airlines follow a "hub and spoke" model, in which planes typically return to a hub airport after flying out to other cities, according to the report.