I'm a loyal Southwest Airlines customer. I've never experienced anything like today's meltdown.
•no email, text or call about my canceled flight
•1-800-IFLY-SWA has had a busy tone for 5+ hours
•the SWA app/website won't let me to modify my itinerary
•no answer to Twitter DM
I'm trying to fly from Chicago to BWI, DCA, or IAD.
•Amtrak's sold out
•rental cars are sold out
•Other airlines' one-way flights start at $519, and there is no guarantee Southwest would cover that cost
Delays and cancellations are inevitable but this is next-level disorder.
As of this morning, my cancelled flight itinerary (MDW -> BWI) has disappeared from the Southwest app.
And the 1-800-I-FLY-SWA reservation number continues to be disconnected. Every time I call, I get a busy signal or a recording that says the call can't be completed as dialed.
NEW: MoCo Police, Fire and the Bomb Squad have evacuated an apartment tower in Wheaton following the report of a suspicious package that may be an explosive.
The building is called Arrive Wheaton. Two floors were initially evacuated around 6a, but now all residents are outside.
Dozens of residents are waiting in the rain for an update from officials.
"Please keep in mind we have limited information as this is a developing story, we ask that you are patient during this time," apartment management said in an email to tenants titled "Urgent, Please Read!"
The fire department says Arrive Wheaton has 486 apartments. There is a Safeway, plus a beer and wine shop on the ground floor.
Police and fire are relocating residents to the Wheaton Rec Center and Library, located about .7 miles away.
NEW: Montgomery County Police has suspended its first-ever civilian assistant police chief, sources tell me.
Executive Elrich appointed Carmen Facciolo last June. The council formally confirmed him.
A department spokeswoman said she could not comment about personnel matters.
In a department-wide email, Chief Marcus Jones wrote:
“Effective immediately, all duties and authority vested in the Chief of the Community Resources Bureau are vested in Captain Marc Erme. This will remain in place until further notice.”
Jones didn’t mention Facciolo by name.
“I’ve heard sparsely anything. So, I don’t know exactly what it is. I didn’t even know that they had put out a statement or done anything concrete... So, tomorrow I’ll get a full briefing on it and we’ll find out where they are and what they think is appropriate," Elrich told me.