Nearly 30% of flights canceled Tuesday at Nashville airport. Most were Southwest Airlines

At least 145 flights were canceled at Nashville International Airport on Tuesday amid the ripple effects of severe winter weather over the long holiday weekend. The vast majority were with Southwest Airlines.

A total of 72 departing flights had been canceled through 4 p.m. Tuesday, with Southwest Airlines accounting for 70 of them, according to airport spokesperson Paul Lindsley. A total of 73 arriving flights were also canceled, 71 of which were with Southwest. Delays had also affected 32 flights. A total of 265 departing flights and 265 arriving flights were scheduled Tuesday, Lindsley said. That means around 27% were canceled.

Will Ringer was standing in a long line at the Southwest ticket desk late Tuesday morning trying to return to Charlotte, North Carolina, after visiting family in Murfreesboro. He was told his flight was initially delayed because there were no flight attendants. It was later canceled. He was also told there were no flights to Charlotte available until after the New Year.

"I'm just trying to go home," he said. "I don't have a lot of options. I spent all my money to get here and get back. Now I don't know what I'm supposed to do. It's tough."

Riley Hawkins was also in line at the ticket desk and said he drove from Cleveland to Nashville after his Southwest flight was canceled, in hopes of finding a flight back to New Orleans. He got to Nashville on Tuesday morning and wasn't sure if he'd be able to find a flight.

"It's really discouraging," he said.

Ringer and Hawkins were among the growing line of customers trying to rebook flights, while others abandoned plans to fly and sprang for rental vehicles instead. By noon, a long line snaked through the area for rental cars at the airport. While some rental agencies listed little to no availability at the Nashville airport as of Tuesday morning, several others appeared to have vehicles on hand, according to their online booking sites.

Later in the day, Ringer was able to secure a Greyhound bus ticket. It is a 10-hour ride back to Charlotte, he said. He was hopeful Southwest would reimburse him for the extra costs he incurred.

Feds open review on Southwest Airlines

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it launched a review of Southwest Airlines after cancellations stranded travelers across the country as intense winter storms crippled travel and killed dozens. Southwest canceled nearly 3,000 flights Monday, more than 2,500 flights Tuesday and almost 2,500 flights for Wednesday, according to real-time flight status tracker FlightAware. That makes up roughly two-thirds of the airline's flights set for those days.

Airlines canceled as many as 20% of their flights Saturday and Sunday nationwide. American, United, Delta and JetBlue reported cancellation rates between 0-2% by Tuesday. The DOT called the rate of cancellations with Southwest Airlines “disproportionate and unacceptable" and is looking into whether the airline is complying with its customer service plan.

Southwest Airlines:Southwest has canceled thousands of flights amid winter storm, DOT launches review

"With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable," Southwest said in a statement released Monday. "As we continue the work to recover our operation, we have made the decision to continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one third of our schedule for the next several days."

The president of the union representing Southwest pilots blamed the lack of crews to fly planes on scheduling software written in the 1990s and on management that he said failed to fix things after previous meltdowns, including a major disruption in October 2021.

“There is a lot of frustration because this is so preventable,” union official Capt. Casey Murray said. “The airline cannot connect crews to airplanes. I’m concerned about this weekend. I’m concerned about a month from now.”

Here a few things those stranded by Southwest Airlines cancellations need to know.

Southwest travel waiver

All Southwest customers who were scheduled to fly through Jan. 2, 2023, may rebook without paying additional charges or fly standby within 14 days of their original travel date between previously booked cities.

Flights may be rebooked on Southwest's website or by phone at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA. Customers who call should expect long wait times.

Can I get a refund?

Customers who prefer a refund over rebooking may fill out a form on Southwest's website if their flight was canceled.

The Department of Transportation requires all airlines to offer refunds when a flight is canceled for any reason. Rules about delays are more complicated and vary widely. The DOT's dashboard for travelers lists policies by airline.

Can I be reimbursed for extra expenses?

Southwest customers impacted by cancellations or a "significant flight delay" between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 may submit receipts by email for reimbursement consideration.

"We will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel and alternate transportation," the airline said on its website.

Thalia Beaty, Nicole Hester and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville flight delays, cancellations continue at BNA Tuesday