Southwest Airlines suffered another reputational blow on Tuesday. A technical issue forced the company to temporarily suspend all flights. More than 2,400 flights have been delayed nationwide.
From Denver due to pending departure new york cityand came just four months after the Southwest suffered a much bigger meltdown Christmas travel rush.
In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday’s disruptions on “data connectivity issues caused by a firewall failure,” saying, “Early this morning, a vendor-provided firewall went down, preventing connectivity to some operational data. was unexpectedly lost,” he added.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it issued a nationwide ground stop on all Southwest flights at the airline’s request to address the technical issue. The flight ban was lifted in the morning.
The recent turmoil was far less severe than the massive meltdown Southwest suffered in December, but CEO Robert has vowed to upgrade and modernize the airline’s systems to prevent such breakdowns. It called Jordan’s vows into question.
Southwest Airlines took another reputational blow Tuesday after the company temporarily suspended all flights nationwide due to technical problems.
In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday’s disruptions on “data connectivity issues caused by a firewall failure,” saying, “Early this morning, a vendor-provided firewall went down, preventing connectivity to some operational data. was unexpectedly lost,” he added.
In the December crisis, more than 17,000 Southwest flights were canceled in 10 days after airlines said their crew scheduling systems collapsed under the weight of chaos from massive winter storms.
Cancellations have ruined the vacation travel plans of well over two million people and cost airlines over $1 billion.
The carrier has upgraded its system in the wake of that fiasco, and said in a March 14 news release that work is underway to implement improvements.
Asked if the recent disruption was related to a technical upgrade, Southwest did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com outside business hours on Wednesday.
FlightAware data showed Tuesday’s disruptions were limited to 18 canceled flights, on par with other major airlines.
However, 2,404 Southwest flights, representing 57% of the airline’s schedule for the day, were delayed, causing exacerbation and inconvenience to passengers.
The turmoil bolstered Southwest Airlines’ reputation as an airline that has struggled with technical issues more than anyone else.
Rob Britton, a former American Airlines executive who teaches crisis management at Georgetown University, told The Associated Press that while Tuesday’s incident did little damage, it would help tarnish Southwest Airlines’ image.
He said the Southwest is growing rapidly but underinvesting in technology and suffering from an “isolated culture” that “prevents us from looking outside for solutions.” .
Atmosphere Research Group travel analyst Henry Harteveldt told the Associated Press that Tuesday’s incident “will not have a long-term impact on Southwest Airlines’ reputation.”
“The important thing for Southwest now is to find out what caused it and do everything we can to prevent an incident like this from happening again.
Unlike other major airlines, Southwest does not use commercial crew scheduling software and relies on its own systems built and maintained in-house called SkySolver and Crew Web Access.
Insiders say the program crashes and malfunctions frequently, with crew members having to call in for route assignments during chaos. dallas morning herald.
Southwest Airlines planes were grounded for more than an hour on Tuesday due to a technical issue with the airline’s firewall system, causing more than 1,900 delays and cancellations.
At 11:10 am, about an hour and a half later, the FAA lifted the suspension. In a vague statement, Southwest wrote that it had “experienced technical problems” with one of its systems.
The December meltdown led to an ongoing Department of Transportation investigation and congressional hearings, during which lawmakers complained that the Southwest was offering little to no help to stranded travelers. rice field.
Senator Maria Cantwell, D-Wash, who led that hearing, said Tuesday’s breakdown was “another way to show Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade its systems and stop negatively impacting individual travelers.” It’s a demonstration,” he said.
The airline’s union says it alerted management to problems with its crew scheduling system after the last meltdown in October 2021.
CEO Robert Jordan has launched a campaign to repair the airline’s damaged reputation.
Southwest Airlines said last month it would add de-icing equipment and increase staffing during winters cold enough to limit the amount of time ground crews can be outside.
Southwest Airlines Co. shares fell nearly 1% on Tuesday, while closest rivals American, Delta and United all gained at least 1.5%.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11988741/Southwest-Airlines-blames-firewall-failure-nationwide-grounding.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 Southwest Airlines attributes nationwide flight suspension to firewall failure