Southwest Airlines experienced significant flight delays due to technical difficulties, leading to a temporary suspension of operations on Tuesday morning. The airline attributed the delays to "data connection issues caused by a firewall failure," which resulted in a brief halt in flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented the ground stop at Southwest's request, citing "equipment issues." Operations resumed shortly after, with Southwest announcing the resumption in a social media update at 11:35 a.m. ET.
Dan Landson, a spokesperson for Southwest, explained that a vendor-supplied firewall malfunctioned, causing a loss of connection to some operational data. By just after noon, 1,820 flights, or 43% of Southwest's schedule, were delayed, according to FlightAware, while only nine flights were canceled. The airline emphasized that its team worked swiftly to reduce disruptions.
Southwest acknowledged the technical issues early Tuesday and expressed hopes to resume normal operations promptly. The FAA confirmed that Southwest had requested a pause in departures.
This incident follows a significant disruption last December when Southwest canceled over 16,700 flights between December 20 and 29, about half of its schedule during that period. The airline attributed that crisis partly to changes in its staff scheduling systems and has since introduced an "action plan" to avoid similar issues.
In a social media message, Southwest described the current situation as "intermittent technology issues" and apologized for the inconvenience, assuring customers they were working to resolve the situation quickly.
The previous December disruptions were exacerbated by a severe winter storm, but Southwest struggled more than other airlines to recover due to an outdated crew scheduling system. This system required crew members to call in to report their availability, rather than using an electronic notification system, which contributed to the extensive cancellations.