“It’s just not going to happen,” she said on Monday from Nyack, where she had returned after giving up on her plans to spend New Year’s Eve in Nashville. “I was looking at the other flights, and they’re like three times what I paid.”
She had spent two hours waiting in the airport customer service line before an airline employee told frustrated passengers that they could not rebook anyone. She said she still had not been able to reach the company’s phone help, either.
At the Baltimore airport on Monday afternoon, the feeling of frustration was palpable on the arrivals floor. Weary travelers stood in a long queue in the baggage claim area, seeking answers about the whereabouts of their luggage, while the more hopeful picked through the graveyard of hundreds of unclaimed suitcases.
“I can’t talk to y’all while y’all are talking, so everybody’s got to listen,” an exasperated airline worker told travelers over the intercom system.
For Francesca Christo, 13, the delays and uncertainty put a damper on the start of a holiday vacation. Francesca, a middle school student, had been looking forward to flying with her family to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Christmas Day, for a week of poolside relaxation and tennis.
Instead, the Baltimore family found themselves spending Christmas Day at home trying to rebook their canceled flight. Francesca’s mother spent four hours on hold with Southwest’s customer service line, only to be disconnected minutes after reaching an agent.
On Monday, they arrived at the airport in Baltimore and found that their flight had been delayed indefinitely again. They started thinking about backup vacation destinations within driving distance, but Francesca was still holding out hope for Florida.
“I’ll stay until the last minute,” Francesca said. “I want to go.”
David Montgomery contributed reporting.
