Southwest's Christmas 2022 meltdown - phones, chat shut down, RR points compensation
Dec 24, 2023, 9:13 pm
#556
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,270
ORD has longer runways and better technologies for handling landings in low visibility/low ceiling situations. So they can reduce frequency of plane movements (ie divert some aircraft and hold other short haul flights at origin for a time) and stay open in the same conditions that would put MDW into ground stop.
Dec 24, 2023, 9:20 pm
#557
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PHX
Programs: Delta 2M DM, Southwest A List and CP
Posts: 1,102
Let's not be overly dramatic... It is not a meltdown; it is fog that limits operations at MDW. MDW has very short runways and is pretty much surrounded by residential areas, and the FAA has pretty strict rules for visibility and ice at MDW. Ice is not an issue this time, but has been at other times. Whenever a major hub of an airline gets shut down, it will cause delays and cancellations throughout the system, but it is not a meltdown by any stretch of the imagination.
