Southwest Airlines took another reputational hit on Tuesday, after technical issues forced the company to briefly ground all flights nationwide, leading to more than 2,400 delayed flights.
The hold on departures backed up traffic at airports from Denver to New York City, and came just four months after Southwest suffered a much bigger meltdown over the Christmas travel rush.
In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday’s disruption on ‘data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,’ adding: ‘Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost.’
The Federal Aviation Administration said that it issued a nationwide ground stop on all Southwest flights at the request of the airline as it worked through the technical issues. The flight ban was lifted by mid-morning.
Though the latest disruption was far less serious than the massive meltdown Southwest suffered in December, it raised questions about the CEO Robert Jordan’s vow to upgrade and modernize the carrier’s systems to prevent such breakdowns.
Southwest Airlines took another reputational hit on Tuesday, after technical issues forced the company to briefly ground all flights nationwide
In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday’s disruption on ‘data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,’ adding: ‘Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost’
In the December crisis, more than 17,000 Southwest flights were cancelled over the span of ten days, after the airline said its crew scheduling system collapsed under the weight of disruptions from a major winter storm.
The cancellations wrecked holiday travel plans for well over two million people, and cost the airline more than $1 billion.
The carrier has been upgrading its systems in the wake of that debacle, saying in a March 14 news release that work was underway to implement improvements.
Asked if the latest disruptions were related to the technical upgrades, Southwest did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com outside of business hours on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s disruptions only resulted in 18 cancelled flights, on par with other major carriers, according to data from FlightAware.
However, 2,404 Southwest flights were delayed, representing 57 percent of the airline’s schedule for the day, causing aggravation and inconvenience for passengers.
The disruption added to Southwest’s reputation as an airline that has struggled more than most with technology issues.
Rob Britton, a former American Airlines executive who teaches crisis management at Georgetown University, told the Associated Press the damage from Tuesday’s incident will be minor, but will add to the erosion of Southwest’s image.
He said Southwest has underinvested in technology while growing rapidly, and it suffers from an ‘insular culture’ that ‘keeps them from looking outside for solutions.’
Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, told the AP that Tuesday’s incident ‘will have no long-lasting affect on Southwest’s reputation.’
‘What matters now for Southwest is getting to the cause and doing all it can to ensure incidents like this don’t occur again,’ said Harteveldt.
Unlike other major carriers, Southwest does not use commercial crew scheduling software, but instead relies on proprietary systems built and maintained in-house, called SkySolver and Crew Web Access.
Insiders say the programs frequently crash and break down, forcing crew members to phone in for route assignments during disruptions, according to the Dallas Morning Herald.
Southwest Airlines planes were grounded for more than an hour Tuesday due to a technical issue with the carrier’s firewall systems – leading to more than 1,900 delays and cancellations
At 11:10am – after roughly an hour and a half – the FAA lifted the pause – writing in a vague statement that Southwest had ‘experienced a technical issue’ with one of its systems
December’s meltdown led to an ongoing Transportation Department investigation and a congressional hearing during which lawmakers complained that Southwest provided little or no help to stranded travelers.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led that hearing, said Tuesday’s breakdown ‘is another demonstration that Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade their systems and stop the negative impacts to individual travelers.’
The airline’s unions have said they warned management about problems with the crew-scheduling system after a previous meltdown in October 2021.
CEO Robert Jordan has embarked on a campaign to repair the airline’s damaged reputation.
Southwest said last month it would add de-icing equipment and increase staffing during winter weather that is cold enough to limit the amount of time that ground workers can stay outside.
Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. fell Tuesday nearly 1 percent while its closest rivals – American, Delta and United – all gained at least 1.5 percent.
