Some Tulsans Finally Making It Back Home After Southwest Airlines Cancelations

Some Southwest Airlines customers are finally making it back home to Tulsa after days of setbacks. Other customers are getting reunited with their belongings.

Just a handful of Southwest flights made it into Tulsa on Thursday, including a late-morning arrival of a plane from St. Louis.

“They told us that our flight was the only one going out today, so I was very lucky,” said Angela Steele, a Southwest traveler who did not experience any of the cancelation chaos.

Other passengers were not as fortunate. For them, it has been days of trying to get back to Tulsa.

Rosemarie Lynch said she arrived to the airport in Cleveland on Monday to board her flight but found out it was canceled. She is finally back in Tulsa thanks to an opening on a different flight.

“My work is not going to believe it because I had to keep calling off,” said Lynch.

Some customers are still trying to reunite with their luggage. After five days of waiting, Mitch Carson said he got a call from the airline informing him his bag had finally arrived to Tulsa.

Carson said he was traveling from Orlando to Tulsa when his flight was canceled in Texas. He decided to rent a car and hit the road.

“It was a nightmare,” said Carson. “I made the most of it and ended up having a good Christmas anyway.”

Some travelers are giving the airline grace, while others are rethinking who they may book with in the future.

Southwest Airlines said it is planning to resume normal services on Friday. Flights are scheduled to depart Tulsa starting at 5:35 a.m.