Southwest Airlines Tech Issues Congest Houston Airport

Travelers were left waiting at airports across several states for a third day as technology issues caused “flight disruptions” for Southwest Airlines nationwide on June 14, 15, and 16.

A passenger flying into Houston shared this footage from the baggage claim of William P Hobby Airport in Houston early on June 16. She said she was landing on her way to Oklahoma City, but that she was told the next available flight she could take would leave Houston on Friday. The uploader told Storyful guests on canceled flights were unable to retrieve their checked luggage.

Southwest said that a “system issue” created “flight disruptions” throughout the airline’s network. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a “temporary nationwide ground stop” on June 15 as the airline worked to fix a reservation computer issue.

FlightAware reported that Southwest canceled more than 560 flights on June 15 and 45 on June 14. By the afternoon of June 16, Southwest had canceled more than 375 of the day’s flights, and reported more than 885 delays.

Storyful has contacted Southwest Airlines for additional information, but did not hear back by the time of writing. Credit: @MaciBossa via Storyful