PORTLAND, Maine — The Portland Jetport Tuesday morning was among dozens of airports around the nation working through flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines.
According to a spokesperson from the Jetport, 12 flights from Monday to Wednesday were cancelled, all of them Southwest flights from Portland to Baltimore.
While the Portland Jetport doesn't see as many flights or suitcases as other airports across the country, it's the largest airport in Maine, with travelers driving from across northern New England to catch flights.
"I'm not thrilled, especially since I drove two hours to get here," William Proper said Tuesday at the jetport.
Proper and his girlfriend were supposed to be on one of the canceled flights from Portland to Baltimore, with an extension to Orlando, Florida.
"I'm not thrilled especially because we just drove two hours to get here," he said. "Surely they knew they would have had this issue well before we took the time to get here. Honestly I need to work and I'm very tempted to rent a car to take us down but what is that, like a 19 hour drive?"
Southwest Airlines repeatedly said it's cancellations are due to weather, but no other flights at the Portland Jetport on Tuesday were canceled. According to Flight Aware, 2,500 out of 2,800 flights canceled Tuesday morning were on Southwest.
The U.S. Department of Transportation also said Tuesday it will be investigating Southwest Airlines over the issue.
And while the real cause of the cancellations remains unclear, the realities of missing a flight are real for passengers like Colleen Murray, whose mom drove her three hours from northern New Hampshire. She booked her flight for Tuesday intentionally to beat the travel rush.
"We planned what we thought was strategic and it turned out to be the complete opposite," Murray said, adding that she doesn't believe weather is the issue with Southwest.
"You look outside and the weather is beautiful," Murray said.
She ended up rebooking her flight on a different airline, as Southwest agents told her no flights would open until January 2, 2023.