Dave and Linda Everhard were hoping to make it to Akron in time to be with their family for Christmas.

But when the couple, who spend part of the year in Florida, were scheduled to board their Southwest Airlines connecting flight from Orlando to Chicago, the flight eventually was canceled.

"We were at the gate," Dave Everhard, 70, said. "We had gone through security; we're ready to board the plane, and they (Southwest) said, 'We might be a few minutes late. We don't have a pilot yet.' They came back about a half-hour later and said, 'Well, sorry folks. The flight's been canceled.'"

The couple then waited until Wednesday morning to take a flight from Orlando to Columbus.

"At least this way, we're close enough that somebody can pick us up," Linda Everhard, 62, said.

The Everhards were among many travelers who are experiencing headaches due to flight cancellations and delays with Southwest late last week and this week.

Days after severe winter weather wiped out air travel plans across the country, the airline is still struggling with cancellations, reported USA TODAY.

More than 2,500 Southwest flights were canceled Wednesday, after roughly 5,600 cancellations across Monday and Tuesday, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight status in real time. FlightAware was already reporting more than 2,300 Southwest cancellations for Thursday, as of Wednesday afternoon.

What are cancellations like in Columbus?

About 50 flights leaving from or going to John Glenn Columbus International Airport were canceled Wednesday, according to FlightAware. All of them were Southwest flights, going to places like Austin, Texas, Baltimore and Fort Myers, Florida.

Southwest is the top airline at John Glenn, serving about a third of the airport's passengers in 2022, according to airport data.

It plans to operate at a reduced schedule by flying about a third of its scheduled flights for the next few days, with a goal of getting back on track by next week, according to the airline.

The airline has set up a website where customers can rebook or request a refund. The airline also is finalizing a resource to assist customers with reuniting with lost or missing baggage.

Southwest says it's working to accommodate customers as soon as possible.

"Our network is highly complex, and the operation of the airline counts on all the pieces, especially aircraft and crews, remaining in motion to where they're planned to go," CEO Bob Jordan said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

The weather caused airplanes and crews to be out of position in dozens of locations, he said.

"After days of trying to operate as much of our full schedule across the busy holiday weekend, we reached a decision point to significantly reduce our flying to catch up," he said.

While Southwest has blamed the weather, others, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, have said the problems extend well beyond weather to the airline's internal scheduling system that stranded flight crews.

Baggage an issue for Southwest passengers

Kyle Reese was in the baggage-claim area at John Glenn on Wednesday with his wife, Lauren, and two children, where dozens of suitcases sat on the floor waiting to be picked up. The Westerville family had just returned to town from Fort Lauderdale. Reese, 44, said he and his family were supposed to fly back to Columbus on Monday, but the flight was canceled. He was then on the phone with Southwest for about three hours to try to get a different flight.

Reese eventually was able to get a flight from Orlando to Columbus on Wednesday, but the extra two days cost him $1,500 in food, hotel rooms and boarding fees for his two dogs.

"We had to drive three hours north to Orlando to get out," he said. "It's been a complete nightmare."

Reese said he hopes to be compensated for the time and money he has spent trying to get back home.

"They need to do something for all of these people who are affected," he said. "I don't think I will ever fly Southwest again unless they make some type of restitution because of what we've had to go through."

Dispatch Reporter Mark Williams contributed to this report.

mwalker@dispatch.com

@micah_walker701

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Southwest passengers experience cancellations at John Glenn airport