INDIANAPOLIS — It's been nearly a week since travel troubles started for Southwest Airlines. Since then, about 15,000 flights have been canceled.
On Wednesday, 40 flights in and out of Indianapolis were canceled.
Hundreds of unclaimed bags also started piling up near the Southwest baggage claim. The staff there organized the suitcases in sections in hopes of reconnecting each one with its owner.
Natalie Miles drove from Muncie hoping to find her luggage. She said she waited four days after flying from Phoenix.
“My flight got canceled. Every flight was overbooked. I had to fly into Cincinnati. I landed at 1 a.m. in Cincinnati. My luggage was [in Indianapolis]. I got home at 4 a.m. on Christmas Day,” she said.
Miles said she expected to receive a call about her suitcase sometime this week, but she never did.
“I drove all the way hoping it was here because I was never contacted, but I knew they told me it was going to be flown into Indianapolis,” Miles said.
Thankfully, she said, the airline staff was able to locate it quickly.
“My family is going to be happy to finally have their Christmas presents,” Miles said.
For other Hoosiers, their luggage was nowhere to be found. Gene Ohara said his family’s baggage is still somewhere in Orlando.
“They said a couple is at the gate and a couple is in the airport somewhere, but with no flights coming back till at least Sunday, I imagine we will be without those six bags until the middle of next week,” Ohara said.
The Fishers family finally arrived home Wednesday evening after five cancellations in Orlando.
“We survived four days in Orlando with zero baggage. I mean, we didn’t have medicines or toiletries or a change of clothes. We are so glad to be home,” Ohara said.
Now, his family just needs their bags back. They aren’t sure when that will happen.
“We may not even get our bags back,” Ohara said.
The Southwest CEO said the cancellations and delays could go on for days.
Bob Jordan went on Twitter to apologize for the disruptions and talked about a timeline to get back to normal.
''Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes, and we're making headway and we're optimistic to be back on track before next week,” he said.
Southwest blames the cancellations on winter storm delays, flight scheduling and its own outdated infrastructure.
Other airlines also called off flights but on a much smaller scale.