Southwest Blames Cancellations On Weather Being Too Beautiful To Spend Whole Day Cooped Up On Plane

DALLAS—In a public statement Monday that declared it was absolutely gorgeous outside, Southwest Airlines, which canceled more than 2,000 flights over the holiday weekend, blamed the disruptions on the weather being too beautiful for anyone to spend their day cooped up on a plane. “There is absolutely no good reason for people to be stuck in an airplane cabin when they could be out there enjoying the fresh autumn air,” said Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, explaining that the airline had only the wellness of its customers in mind when it stymied tens of thousands of people’s weekend travel plans. “Why on earth would you choose to spend hours confined to a tiny metal tube instead of taking in the foliage in Vermont, fishing on a lake in Wisconsin, or spending a day at the pool down in Houston. You can fly any old time, but a three-day weekend this nice only comes every so often. I’m sure in the long run all those ticket holders will thank us.” Kelly added that customers shouldn’t be surprised if more flights were suspended before Southwest’s operations returned to normal, because the forecast for the rest of the week looked spectacular.