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U.S. NEWS Thursday 29 december 2022
Southwest Airlines flight cancellations continue to snowball

By DAVID KOENIG and be “back on track before
HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH next week.” He said South-
Associated Press west’s tools for recovering
DALLAS (AP) — Travelers from disruptions work “99%
who counted on Southwest of the time, but clearly we
Airlines to get them home need to double down” on
suffered another wave of upgrading systems to avoid
canceled flights Wednes- a repeat of this week.
day, and pressure grew on “We have some real work
the federal government to do in making this right,”
to help customers get re- said Jordan, a 34-year
imbursed for unexpected Southwest veteran who
expenses they incurred be- became CEO in February.
cause of the airline’s melt- “For now, I want you to
down. know that we are commit-
Exhausted Southwest trav- ted to that.”
elers tried finding seats on Transportation Secretary
other airlines or renting cars Pete Buttigieg, who has
to get to their destination, criticized airlines for previ-
but many remained strand- ous disruptions, said that
ed. The airline’s CEO said it “meltdown” was the only
could be next week before word he could think of to
the flight schedule returns describe this week’s events
to normal. at Southwest.
Adontis Barber, a 34-year- A traveler wades through the field of unclaimed bags at the Southwest Airlines luggage carousels He noted that while cancel-
at Denver International Airport, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, in Denver.
old jazz pianist from Kansas Associated Press lations across the rest of the
City, Missouri, had camped industry declined to about
out in the city’s airport since Southwest, according to done by a combination of The federal government 4% of scheduled flights,
his Southwest flight was the FlightAware tracking factors including an anti- is now investigating what they remained above 60%
canceled Saturday and service. quated crew-scheduling happened at Southwest, at Southwest.
wondered if he would ever Other airlines recovered system and a network which carries more passen- From the high rate of can-
get to a New Year’s gig in from ferocious winter storms design that allows can- gers within the United States cellations to customers’ in-
Washington, D.C. that hit large swaths of the cellations in one region than any other airline. ability to reach Southwest
“I give up,” he said. “I’m country over the weekend, to cascade throughout In a video that Southwest on the phone, the airline’s
starting to feel homeless.” but not Southwest, which the country rapidly. Those posted late Tuesday, CEO performance has been un-

By early afternoon on the scrubbed 2,500 flights weaknesses are not new Robert Jordan said South- acceptable, Buttigieg said.
East Coast, about 90% of all Wednesday and 2,300 they helped cause a similar west would operate a re- He vowed to hold the air-
canceled flights Wednes- more on Thursday. failure by Southwest in Oc- duced schedule for sev- line accountable and push
day in the U.S. were on The Dallas airline was un- tober 2021. eral days but hoped to it to reimburse travelers. q

U.S. marks anniversary of Paul Whelan’s detention in Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — The his family are “suffering “Paul and the Whelan fam-
Biden administration is through an unfathomable ily recently showed the
marking the four-year an- ordeal” and he again con- entire country the mean-
niversary of the deten- demned the American’s ing of generosity of spirit in
tion in Russia of American conviction, which was celebrating a fellow Ameri-
businessman Paul Whelan, based on secret evidence, can’s return while Russia
whose continued imprison- and 16-year prison sen- continues its deplorable
ment is one of several ma- tence. treatment of Paul as a bar-
jor irritants in tattered rela- “His detention remains un- gaining chip,” said Presi-
tions between Washington acceptable, and we con- dent Joe Biden’s national
and Moscow. tinue to press for his im- security adviser, Jake Sul-
Secretary of State Antony mediate release at every livan.
Blinken said in a statement opportunity,” Blinken said. The Whelan family sup-
Wednesday that securing “Our efforts to secure Paul’s ported the exchange that
Whelan’s release remains a release will not cease until freed Griner, but expressed
top administration priority. he is back home with his fears that Whelan would Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine who was arrested for alleged
U.S. officials had hoped to family where he belongs.” not be released for years. spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City
include Whelan in a prison- Whelan, a Michigan cor- His brother, David Whelan, Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020.
er swap earlier this month porate security executive, said when the swap was Associated Press
in which they traded de- is jailed in Russia on espio- announced, “I think we all
tained WNBA star Brittney nage charges that his fam- realize that the math is not David Whelan said, “Today is no resolution in sight?”
Griner for a convicted Rus- ily and the U.S. government going to work out for Paul to is the 1,461st day that Paul The anniversary, he said “is
sian arms dealer, Viktor have said are baseless. come home anytime soon, has been held hostage by both awful and mundane,
Bout. The administration U.S. officials said Russia re- unless the U.S. government the Russian Federation. Rus- just another day that Paul
considers Whelan, like Gri- fused to consider including is able to find concessions.” sian authorities entrapped has to suffer in a Russian la-
ner, to have been wrong- Whelan in the Griner deal, Paul Whelan, 52, was sen- him four years ago today. bor colony for being in the
fully detained. calling it a “one or none” tenced in 2020. How do you mark such an wrong place at the wrong
Blinken said Whelan and decision. In a statement Wednesday, awful milestone when there time.”q