Kevin Across America Profile picture
Dec 26, 2022 17 tweets 9 min read Read on X
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.
It's shocking that the call center for one of the United States' largest airlines has (seemingly) been offline for at least 20 hours now.

The airline has only issued one formal tweet about this meltdown.

SWA is, however, starting to respond to customers in the replies section.
A few reasons why I LUV Southwest:

•friendly pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, etc
•two free checked bags
•competitive fares
•I often check in (after work) with less than 45 minutes to my departure and my bag always makes it

And to be clear, I don't even have status.
Southwest has turned some of its baggage carousels at Chicago Midway Airport into temporary holding pits for unclaimed luggage.

The Chicago Police Department and airport security are guarding the area.

The suitcases are organized by the departure city ie PHX, LAX, LAS, etc...
These people are all waiting in line outside of the baggage office at Chicago Midway.

There appear to be three customer service agents at the counter.

I just saw a few people in Southwest uniforms walking to the airport parking garage. They looked utterly exhausted.
According to Google Flights, these are the "most affordable" flights from Chicago to Baltimore/DC on other airlines today.

The million dollar question... will Southwest cover the difference?

With its call center down, a broken website/app, long airport lines, it's hard to know.
Ike Oguejiofor of Burr Ridge, Illinois, was taking his wife and three kids on a surprise Disney cruise.

Southwest canceled their 12/24 flight to Florida. They jumped on a standby list. Their bags made that second plane, but they did not.

Now three days later, and still no bags.
Oguejiofor said he paid $1,500 to cancel the cruise at the last minute.

"This is shocking. It's surprising, to tell you the truth. I just don’t know how [Southwest] can go from being something that was the best, in my opinion, to something I don’t think I’ll ever fly again.”
Big update! As of 6:55p eastern time, 1-800-I-FLY-SWA appears to be working again.

"We are experiencing extremely high call volume and prolonged hold times," a voice recording says.

This is huge as people won't be forced to go to the airport to get rebooked and ask questions.
Good news! Staff at the Southwest Airline check-in counter at Chicago Midway Airport have rebooked me on a nonstop flight from MDW to BWI. It departs at 11:05a tomorrow.

Assuming all goes according to plan, I'll land in Baltimore around 36 hours later than expected. ✈️❤️🧳
Today I filed stories from Midway Airport for @7NewsDC at 4/5p.

I shot with my iPhone 13 and edited with iMovie on my MacBook Pro. I sent the stories to the newsroom using @WeTransfer.

I wish I had my RØDE wireless mic kit with me for better audio quality, but I made it work.
@7NewsDC @WeTransfer My 5p story focussed on three groups of travelers.

•One family had to cancel their Disney cruise.

•One couple got stranded in NYC, and then Atlanta, before booking a Frontier flight back to Chicago.

•One couple made their Columbus to Chicago flight and were grateful for it.
Southwest Flight 2375 from Midway to Baltimore is boarding. The gate agents said there are around 15 open seats.

Most of the people I've interviewed this morning at Midway told me they're getting on their normally-scheduled flight to places like Denver, Orlando, and Montego Bay.
WATCH: I recorded my journey home for 7News at 6p.

Honestly, it felt like a normal flight.

The crew did not acknowledge the Christmas weekend meltdown, but I did notice around six uniformed pilots riding as passengers, likely part of Southwest's staff repositioning process.
And here's another story I turned about three Southwest passengers... at three Chicago Midway gates... heading to three separate destinations...

Gate B3 - Bob Montesano - flying to Orlando
Gate B7 - Rebecca Palak - flying to Albuquerque
Gate B19 - Mary Perros - flying to Denver

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More from @KevinLewisNomad

Jun 24, 2022
There is a significant police presence at the Chevy Chase, Md. home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

As of 12:15p, there were no protestors in his neighborhood.

Earlier this month, a man went to Kavanaugh's home with plans of killing the justice, prosecutors allege.
Hundreds of pro-abortion rights protesters are gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Fu** you, Kavanaugh! Fu** you Alito!" are among some of the chants.

One protestor's sign reads, "Separation between vagina & state."

Another reads, "Keep SCOTUS out of my uterus."
The crowd of pro-abortion rights protestors remain strong on this late Friday afternoon.

The protestors are visibly and audibly angry, but have not engaged in any physical violence.

Earlier today, President Biden called on Americans to remain peaceful and refrain from violence.
Read 6 tweets
Jun 23, 2022
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.

NB Georgia Avenue is blocked in the area.
Read 7 tweets
Jun 8, 2022
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.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 6, 2022
NEW: The Giant located at 12051 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md. is depleted of many produce items, chicken, some bottled water, and other staples.

A few signs in the salad section read:

“Important Info: Due to supply challenge, some bagged salads are unavailable at this time.”
Here is a short walking tour of the partially-barren produce department inside the Giant on Rockville Pike.

Today, I asked Giant what’s causing the food shortages and what it’s doing to restock shelves ASAP.

A spokesperson replied to my email declining to comment for the story.
The Harris Teeter located at 11845 Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda, Md. has a similarly-depleted produce department.

Harris Teeter’s chicken and milk were also heavily picked over.

The North Carolina-based company did not respond to my email seeking information today.
Read 6 tweets
Oct 20, 2021
NEW: Bethany Petrie and Theodore McKenzie tell me they’ve been caring for the two surviving Prince George’s County zebras for about a month 🦓

McKenzie is the groundskeeper on a large, wooded, private property. It backs to the farm that the zebras escaped from in late August.
MORE: The first photo shows McKenzie spreading hay at 3:49 p.m. Tuesday.

The second photo shows the two zebras chowing down a little more than two hours later.

“All of a sudden, I’m in the middle of trying to save zebras. I would never in a million years think I’d be here.”
MORE: McKenzie and Petrie recently started the ‘Save the Zebras Foundation.’

They also operate a website and a Facebook Page where they post photos and topical links almost daily.

“People are starting to donate,” McKenzie told me. “Get involved. Help me help the zebras.”
Read 9 tweets
Oct 19, 2021
NEW: @albornoz_gabe says he's moving forward with a vax mandate for MoCo's nearly 10,000 employees.

"This is a tough situation. It’s a tough call, but I always err on the side of safety,” Albornoz said.

20% of county workers remain unvaccinated or haven't reported their status.
MORE: Three public sector unions warn it's possible that hundreds of cops, firefighters, and corrections officers will resign or retire in protest.

36.12% of fire rescue, 32.25% of corrections, and 19.83% of police personnel are unvaccinated or haven't revealed their status.
MORE: Albornoz has heard the union threats but isn't wavering.

"There was grave concern in CA and NY that when the mandate was required there... that it would have catastrophic effects, there would be waves of people quitting, and that didn't happen. It didn't come to fruition.”
Read 5 tweets

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