Southwest Airlines issued a second apology via video posted on Twitter Wednesday night. The apology came from Chief Commercial Officer (COO) Ryan Green. It was similar to the apology issued by the airline’s CEO the day before. By Thursday morning, more than 2,000 flights had already been cancelled.

We’ve let our Customers and Employees down, and we pledge to do everything we can to make it right. If you still need assistance rearranging your travel, getting a refund, or tracking down your luggage, please visit https://t.co/II3YgdPy7J. pic.twitter.com/64Fdt8jJPn

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) December 29, 2022

The travel disruption information page is pretty basic. It explains that customers can re-book flights at no additional charge on the website, within in thirty days of the original travel dates. There is a section for customers to request a refund. And there is a section of frequently asked questions. That’s it.

On the subject of delayed baggage, COO Green says on the video that customers will be able to ‘submit information on how to receive that bag at no cost to you.’

In the meantime, other airlines are filling the vacuum. Some are capping prices on travel to and from certain cities as Southwest passengers try to rebook their flights.

CNN reported that United and American Airlines will implement the price cap in order to help stranded passengers make it to their destinations.

The price cap notification from American arrived as frustrated passengers posted screenshots of domestic flights skyrocketing to more than $2,000 as they attempted to rebook their travel.

‘We’re doing our part to help get people where they need to be and we’re putting a cap on fares for select cities,’ tweeted American.

It sounds as though Mr. Green is blaming the winter storm for Southwest’s implosion and some on social media criticized him for that.

In his video, Green noted that the ‘flexibility and planning that we put in place to deal with the storm just wasn’t enough’ – an excuse customers apparently stopped buying days ago.

One Twitter user replied to the video, ‘Y’all are STILL blaming it on the storm?’

While extreme winter weather disrupted travel plans across the US in the days leading up to Christmas, most airlines and other travel service companies were able to straighten out their schedules as soon as the weather permitted.

It wasn’t just the usual weather delays due to a massive winter storm system, though. Some employees, such as members of the pilots union, blame an antiquated communications system and scheduling software. The pilots speaking out say they have been sounding the alarm for some time now and the company has not responded. They say this fiasco could have been avoided and blame a lack of leadership.

“The impact of Southwest’s operational collapse being felt by passengers and crews over this holiday was not a surprise to anyone but the leadership of Southwest Airlines,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said in a statement. “It was unacceptable and the worst of the effects were absolutely preventable. ”

The union called the disruptions a “systemic failure” and indicated the airline had outgrown its tools to withstand meteorological and technological disruptions.

The group placed much of the blame on Southwest’s crew scheduling software, suggesting it does not allow displaced crews to remain in constant contact with the company and fails to account for Southwest’s point-to-point network.

“For more than a decade, leadership shortcomings in adapting, innovating, and safeguarding our operations have led to repeated system disruptions, countless disappointed passengers, and millions in lost profits,” the union said.

Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace calls for investigations into what happened. She questions Transportation Secretary Buttigieg’s slow response, waiting four days into the crisis before weighing in. Her own teenage children were stranded in Baltimore and their luggage still hasn’t made it back to their home in South Carolina.

“[T]his hit close to home because my kids my teenage kids got stranded in Baltimore trying to make it home on Christmas Eve. And even today, five days later, we still don’t know where their luggage is right now,” she said. “And so we’ve been personally impacted by this.”

“And I was disheartened and disappointed to hear the president, basking in the Caribbean during this crisis, could not be any more tone-deaf right now, because this has affected tens of thousands of people that can’t get on trains, can’t rent cars, can’t recoup their flights to get home.”

Mace added Buttigieg’s response has been dismal, telling Fox News that American travelers must see real recompense for what has happened to them.

Rep. Mace sits on the House oversight committee that will hold hearings, including asking for accountability for the billions of dollars in aid given to the airline during the pandemic and the funds included in the Biden infrastructure bill. What has all that money been used for, if not to update aging communication equipment and scheduling software? It seems like that should have been a top priority.