Amid severe weather conditions impacting the central and eastern U.S., Southwest Airlines faced a brief computer outage on Wednesday afternoon, leading to numerous flight delays, as reported by the carrier.
The airline promptly addressed the issue, attributing it to a power outage at one of its data centers in the Dallas area. In an email statement, Southwest confirmed the resolution of the technology problem, stating that while overall operations continued, some flights across the system experienced delays as teams worked to rectify the outage and restart systems.
Expressing regret for the inconvenience caused to customers, Southwest Airlines assured travelers of their commitment to swiftly and safely transporting them to their destinations. FlightAware data indicated that as of 6:30 p.m., approximately 32% of Southwest’s flights, totaling 1,311 flights, had been delayed on Wednesday.
The attention drawn to this incident stems from previous technology-related challenges experienced by Southwest Airlines. In particular, a significant disruption occurred over the winter holidays in 2022-2023, when weather delays and backend technology issues culminated in the cancellation of nearly 17,000 flights over a 10-day period in December 2022. The incident left passengers and baggage stranded nationwide.
Since then, Southwest’s leadership has pledged to implement technology upgrades and operational enhancements to prevent similar incidents. Nevertheless, any mention of “Southwest Airlines” and “technology” together on social media tends to spark speculation about the possibility of another meltdown.
Despite concerns, Southwest Airlines emphasized its ability to sustain overall operations during the recent outage and is actively working to restore affected flights to their schedules.
