Travel troubles persist at Orlando International Airport

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando International Airport is seeing major travel disruptions again Tuesday.

According to Flightaware, there are 157 canceled flights as of 8:45 a.m. This comes after more than 200 flights were canceled Monday night and 178 were canceled on Christmas.

Many of the cancellations at OIA are coming from Southwest Airlines. According to the airline, Southwest has been experiencing higher volumes of calls and social inquiries as a major winter storm continues to rage in the U.S.

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“This safety-first work is intentional, ongoing and necessary to return to normal reliability, one that minimizes last-minute inconveniences,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement. “We anticipate additional changes with an already reduced level of flights as we approach the coming New Year holiday travel period. And we’re working to reach (out) to customers whose travel plans will change with specific information and their available options.”

In a travel advisory, Southwest Airlines said that it would put a system-wide waiver into place for passengers who experienced a “disruption in service” through Jan. 2.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it would examine Southwest Airlines after flight trackers said the company canceled more than 60% of its flights nationwide.

The department said it was “concerned by Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays.”

As a result, USDOT officials said the department would examine whether the cancellations were controllable and whether Southwest Airlines is complying with its customer service plan.

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