Was your Southwest flight canceled out of KCI? Tips on refunds, rebooking and baggage

Thousands of passengers traveling through Kansas City are still reeling from the massive wave of Southwest Airlines’ flight cancellations.

The unprecedented disruption was caused by operational challenges that began with last week’s winter storm that swept a good part of the country and put many flights on hold for the holidays.

As of Tuesday, Southwest had canceled 81 flights, or 73% of its scheduled flights, going into or out of Kansas City International Airport, according to data on Flight Aware. The airline so far has also canceled 82 flights Wednesday and 50 flights Thursday traveling into or out of KCI, or 74% and 61% of its scheduled flights for those days, respectively.

The airline canceled more than 300 flights in and out of Kansas City between Christmas Day Thursday. The airline has canceled thousands of flights nationwide.

Southwest officials released a statement apologizing for the ongoing cancellations.

“We were fully staffed and prepared for the approaching holiday weekend when the severe weather swept across the continent, where Southwest is the largest carrier in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S.,” the airline wrote.

“These operational conditions forced daily changes to our flight schedule at a volume and magnitude that still has the tools our teams use to recover the airline operating at capacity.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday night that it would investigate the cancellations and whether or not Southwest acted in line with its customer service policy. The department is also asking that customers that experiences difficulties with the airline to file a complaint here, if necessary.

Passengers who were slated to fly this week have had to deal with a lot, from missed holidays, missing bags and congested airports.

Here’s a breakdown of what resources are available to travelers who are either looking for a refund, help finding lost luggage or trying to rebook.

REBOOKING

Travelers still interested in rebooking a flight can visit: southwest.com/traveldisruption, where they can find a new time and day to fly. Many airports are also under a travel advisory which allows for a system-wide waiver for cancellations and change flight fees until at least Jan. 2.

If you choose to cancel a reservation and want to receive a full refund, fill out this form through Southwest’s site.

If you choose to rebook, then you’ll be able to rebook in the original class of travel within 30 days of the original date of travel between the original origin and destination cities. To learn more about the travel advisory, visit here.

“The Southwest Team is working to accommodate Customers on available flights as soon as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience to our Customers,” a Southwest representative said in an emailed statement to The Star.

REFUND

Passengers who would like to cancel their flight and get a full refund will need to fill out a refund form. The form will ask for your reservation number and first and last name, to start.

If you would like a refund, but you purchased your ticket through a third party site like Expedia or Alternative Airlines, you will need to speak to a customer service representative by calling 1-800-435-9792. Southwest is experiencing high call volumes though and asks that if you are not traveling within 72 hours to wait to call, if possible.

REIMBURSEMENT

Travelers who spent extra money on lodging, food or travel due to cancellations can submit receipts to Southwest by emailing the company through its online email form.

“We will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation,” reads the airline’s website.

“If you have been impacted by a flight cancellation or significant flight delay between December 24, 2022, and January 2, 2023, you may submit receipts for consideration via Email Us on Southwest.com. We will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation.”

LOST BAGGAGE

If you are missing luggage, there are a few options available to you. A representative from the Southwest said that it is finalizing a resource to provide assistance to customers who need to reunite with their bags.

For now, people who are missing any baggage can visit here to see the airline’s policies on missing bags. If you or someone you know is still at the airport, they can speak to a representative at the baggage claim office in the airport nearest them, which might help since there are high call volumes.

Customers can also have their baggage shipped to them once they make contact with a representative from the airline. Make sure to give the best address for where to ship the bags, and Southwest will have the bags delivered at no cost to the customer.

“Our team is utilizing its standard procedures for returning baggage during irregular operations. We will make every attempt to reconnect Customers with their baggage at no cost to the Customer – we will use shipping partners to return baggage, where appropriate,” a Southwest representative said in a statement to The Star.