Southwest meltdown: Airline updates process to fix baggage issues

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines made modifications on Wednesday to velocity up the process of reuniting clients with luggage at Dallas Love Field.

Hundreds of luggage are nonetheless roped off within the baggage declare space. Many extra have been taken out of walkways and away from partitions to an upstairs space on the airport out of each sight and attain of arrive passengers.

Delta and American Airlines didn’t reply to repeated requests from WFAA for information on getting luggage to passengers or what number of luggage every airline had labeled delayed and unclaimed. United mentioned it couldn’t present a complete variety of misplaced, delayed or unclaimed luggage presently however mentioned it’s working with passengers by means of its on-line instruments and with brokers over the cellphone to join them with baggage.

Christina Arriazola and her group walked by means of aisles of luggage at Love Field, searching for luggage they hadn’t seen in 5 days.

“We’ve been hopping to stores just buying clothes and toiletries and whatever we can. I don’t even have my medications because I just mistakenly put them in the suitcase,” she mentioned. “I’m a little hopeful because they found theirs, so I’m sure it’s here somewhere.”

Southwest reorganized luggage into zones to assist individuals discover them faster and in addition added a brand new on-line software to stroll passengers by means of how to get bags delivered or rerouted to the place they want to be.

Arriazola’s flight from Orlando on Friday was canceled, so she and her group drove to Tampa for an additional flight that received canceled earlier than spending Christmas again in Orlando — solely to have their Monday return journey canceled, too.

“So we had three cancellations, so after that we said forget it, we’re just going to drive,” Arriazola mentioned.

Their luggage beat them again and joined rows over different baggage in Love Field and comparable scenes performed out at LAX, Chicago Midway, and St. Louis’s Lambert International Airport.

“It was worse at Denver,” Matthew Wallace, who got here along with his household to discover luggage, mentioned. “This is actually not that terrifying.”

Wallace and his household have been with out their ten luggage for 5 days after a cancellation in Denver. They discovered them within the subject of baggage at Love Field.

“We had a couple carry-ons but a lot of us were missing medications, clothes, stuff like that,” he mentioned.

After a half hour and a few assist, Arriazola discovered her lacking bag, too.

Southwest reorganized luggage into zones to assist individuals discover them faster and in addition added a brand new on-line software to stroll passengers by means of how to get bags delivered or rerouted to the place they want to be.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. This is absolutely crazy,” Arriazola mentioned. “You can’t be mad about it because it’s not going to get you anywhere.”