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Video above: Flight delays not done as holiday travelers try to make their way homeAir travelers in the U.S. hoping for clear skies on Tuesday following a disastrous week of weather-related flight cancellations and delays will have to extend their patience a few more days -- particularly if they're flying with Southwest Airlines.More than 2,750 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have already been canceled for Tuesday as of 2:45 a.m. ET, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.Of those canceled flights, 2,480 are operated by Southwest.Airports most affected by the Tuesday cancellations are Denver International, followed by Chicago Midway International, Baltimore/Washington International, Nashville International, Dallas Love Field and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.Tuesday's cancellations follow a full day of post-Christmas travel chaos, with 3,989 flights canceled on Monday -- 2,909 of those being Southwest flights.Southwest warns that such cancellations and delays are expected to continue for several more days, with representatives saying the Dallas-based airline is planning to dial back its flight schedule in order to get operations on track.Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan told the Wall Street Journal the company plans to operate just over a third of its schedule in upcoming days to give itself the ability for crews to get into the right positions.According to WSJ.com, Jordan added that reduced schedule could be extended."We had a tough day today. In all likelihood we'll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this," Jordan said in an interview Monday evening with WSJ.com."This is the largest scale event that I've ever seen."What can stranded passengers do?CNN's Carlos Suarez spoke with frustrated passengers in line at the Southwest ticket counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday afternoon.He reported that about 150 customers were waiting in a long line at one point to rebook, with the line snaking around the back of the ticket counter.Calls made Monday afternoon by CNN to Southwest's customer service did not go through, so customers couldn't even get in the queue to speak to a representative. Southwest told CNN it is "fully staffed to answer calls."The airline also says, "those whose flights have been canceled may request a full refund or receive a flight credit, which does not expire."Video below: Some travelers keep positivity amid long lines at BWI-MarshallIf you've been left in the lurch and your efforts to reach a customer service agent are going nowhere, the founder of Scott's Cheap Flights suggests trying an international number."The main hotline for U.S. airlines will be clogged with other passengers getting rebooked. To get through to an agent quickly, call any one of the airline's dozens of international offices," Scott Keyes said."Agents can handle your reservation just like US-based ones can, but there's virtually no wait to get through."Click here to get international numbers that Southwest has previously posted.Southwest spokesperson: "Take care of yourself...keep your receipts"A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines (SWA) said the recent winter storm is to blame for the cascade of thousands of flight cancellations Monday and advanced cancellations Tuesday."As the storm continued to sweep across the country it continued to impact many of our larger stations and so the cancellations just compiled one after another to 100 to 150 to 1,000," Jay McVay said in a press conference at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport on Monday night."With those cancellations and as a result, we end up with flight crews and airplanes that are out of place and not in the cities that they need to be in to continue to run our operations."McVay said that the company's first priority right now is safety. "We want to make sure that we operate these flights safely and that we have the flight crews that have legal and sufficient time to operate these flights," he stated."We will do everything that we need to do to right the challenges that we've had right now," he said, including "hotels, ride assistance, vans ... rental cars to try and make sure these folks get home as quickly as possible."He promised that all customers, even those who had already left the airport or made alternate arrangements on their own, would also be taken care of."If you've already left, take care of yourself, do what you need to do for your family, keep your receipts," McVay relayed. "We will make sure they are taken care of, that is not a question."An announcement made in the terminal prior to the news conference apologized to customers and said the next available SWA seats are on Saturday, Dec. 31 and later. The agent said Southwest would be providing buses to area hotels and assured that "we will have sufficient rooms for all customers who are affected by this disruption."Video below: Rossen Reports: Winter travel tricks as snow cancels flightsUS government 'concerned' by cancellationsThe United State Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued a statement on Monday's massive flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines, saying the agency is "concerned.""USDOT is concerned by Southwest's unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays and reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan," the agency tweeted.Meanwhile, in a call with CNN on Monday, the president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Capt. Casey Murray, said the problems Southwest is experiencing have been brewing for a long time."We've been having these issues for the past 20 months," he said. "We've seen these sorts of meltdowns occur on a much more regular basis and it really just has to do with outdated processes and outdated IT."When asked about the airline's processes, he said they haven't changed since the 1990s. "It's phones, it's computers, it's processing power, it's the programs used to connect us to airplanes -- that's where the problem lies, and it's systemic throughout the whole airline.""This ultimately is a leadership problem," Murray stated. "Until we have some true leadership that is going to make some changes and really bring this airline into the 21st century we're going to continue to see this, and our customers and our employees are going to continue to suffer."In other developments-- In hard-hit western New York, Buffalo International Airport said in its most recent tweet that it does not plan to resume passenger flights before 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, pushing back the expected reopening by another 24 hours later than previously anticipated.-- Greyhound, the largest provider of intercity bus service, issued a service alert on Monday afternoon stating many of its scheduled services in the upper northeast will be canceled or disrupted until further notice due to winter weather. Affected cities include Buffalo, Cleveland and Syracuse.A rough holiday weekA winter storm that swept across the US was ill-timed for travelers who had started pushing Christmas week flying numbers back toward pre-pandemic levels.On Christmas Day, 3,178 flights were canceled and 6,870 were delayed, according to FlightAware.On Christmas Eve, there were a total of 3,487 flights canceled, according to FlightAware.Friday was the worst day of this streak, with 5,934 cancellations, while Thursday saw almost 2,700 cancellations.

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Nearly 1,500 miles from Mexico, workers at the Jester Park Nature Center in Grainger, Iowa, found a monarch butterfly that needed to hitch a ride if it wanted to make it through the winter.They decided to wing it and ask for help on Facebook to get the insect to a warmer climate. But they didn't expect anyone to answer the call."I couldn't say no," said Patty Loving who has helped to raise and release many monarch butterflies before relocating to Iowa from Texas.She found a fascination with the insect as many of them could be found in her yard when she lived in the Lone Star state. She also wanted to help them because their populations in the wild are decreasing.When she saw the Facebook post, she knew just what to do."I'm going to Texas tomorrow and it's just perfect. And I contacted the people at Southwest Airlines and they said 'yes,'" Loving said."Yeah, we're pretty excited about our little butterfly getting a chance for survival she otherwise wouldn't have had," excitedly shared Patrice Petersen-Keys with the nature center.Petersen-Keys helped to keep the butterfly in good health once they found it.She shares this trip could mean a lot for the species."We need to do something to help them," Petersen-Keys said. "And this is kind of one of those little feel-good things to say, hey, if this little monarch butterfly can make it to Mexico, we can all rally behind it and feel good about that."To transfer the butterfly is pretty easy. Conservationists just placed it in an envelope with her wings spread and then placed that into a sealed container inside a cooler.That cooler will have an ice pack in it that will help relax her until she's able to be released."Once you see the miracle of how it transitions from a worm to a chrysalis and then you witness how it comes out of the chrysalis and it does this amazing dance and it's a beautiful butterfly. You can never stop," Loving said.Watch the full story in the video above.

OVER TO YOU DIRK. THANK YOU. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES HAS A HIGH VALLEY VOLUME OF FLIGHTS HAVE BEEN DELAYED OR CANCELED TODAY. THAT INCLUDES IT SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE 32 SOUTHWEST FLITSGH WERE CANCELED AND 33 DELAYED THE AGENCY ALSO HAD DELAYS AT OTHER AIRPORTS INCLUDING THOSE IN THE BAY AREA SCOTT BUDMAN SPOKE TO PASSENGERS WHO WERE STUCK AT THE AIRRTPO WAITING TO FLY OUT. AMID, THE LONG LINES STORIES OF BROKEN CONNECTION EVANS I’M TRYING TO GET HOME FOR MY ANGRDDAD’S FUNERAL PASSENGERS LIKE MAGELLA HOT STRANDED FOR HOURS AT SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TRYING TO GET A FLIGHT GOT AN EMAIL THIS MORNING SAYING THAT THE FLIGHT WAS DELAYED BY LIKE ALMOST TEE HHROURS. SO I QUICKLY GOT IN THE CAR AND GOT HE.ER OBVIOUSLY. THE LINE WAS SUPER LONG. WE HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO TALK ANYMORE. IT’S JUST BEEN DELAY, AND WE’RE NOT GONNA MAKE THAT CONNECTION. WHOLE FAMILY, WE ORIGINALLY HAD AN 11 O’CLOCK FLIGHT, BUT WE HAVE BNEE NOW THAT WAS DELAYED SPENNGDI AN EXTRA NIGHT HERE. THEY DIDN’T PLAN ON SO NOW WE ARE REBOOKED FOR TOMORROW MORNING GOING THROUGH HOUONST GOING BACK TO NASHVILLE. WE HAVE VOUCHSER FOR HOTEL ROOMS SOUTHWEST RELEASED A STATEMENT BLAMING THE DELAYS ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ISSUES AND WEATHER PROBLEMS SAYING IT’S TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR LOST FLIGHTS. SO THERE’S CERTAIN TO BE MORE PELEOP FEELING COMFORTABLE TRAVELING AND SOME MORE SEATS ARE BEING SOLD AVIATION EXPERT MIKE MCCARRON SAYS, EVEN THOUGH WE’RE READY TO FLY AGAIN AIRLINES AREN’T YET? FULLY STAFFED UP. SO EXPECT DELAYS. THEY’RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA SERVE BACK TO THE CONVINCED AT THIS THIS LEVELF O DEMAND

Southwest Airlines cancels more than 1,000 flights

Updated: 3:18 PM EDT Oct 10, 2021

Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend, blaming the woes on air traffic control issues and weather. The airline canceled more than 1,000 flights, or 28% of its schedule as of 2 p.m. ET Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. The cancellations mark the highest rate by far of the major U.S. airlines. Next in line are Allegiant and Spirit, both of which had canceled 5% and 4% of its flights respectively, according to the flight tracker. American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights.Asked why Southwest had more disruptions than other airlines, the company said that on Friday evening, it saw a significant impact in the Florida airports after "an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations."Officials said they hope to return to normal operations as they move into Sunday.Hearst station KCRA contributed to this report.

Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend, blaming the woes on air traffic control issues and weather. The airline canceled more than 1,000 flights, or 28% of its schedule as of 2 p.m. ET Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

The cancellations mark the highest rate by far of the major U.S. airlines. Next in line are Allegiant and Spirit, both of which had canceled 5% and 4% of its flights respectively, according to the flight tracker. American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights.

Asked why Southwest had more disruptions than other airlines, the company said that on Friday evening, it saw a significant impact in the Florida airports after "an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations."

Officials said they hope to return to normal operations as they move into Sunday.

Hearst station KCRA contributed to this report.