Southwest flights delayed at KCI after airline pauses operations due to technology issue

More than 50 Southwest Airlines flights into and out of Kansas City International Airport were delayed Tuesday after the airline paused operations due to a technology glitch.

Southwest has resumed its flights after the temporary pause to “work through data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,” the airline said in a statement.

Passengers are being urged to check Southwest.com for the status of their flight or talk to a customer service agent at the airport for assistance.

The FAA announced on Twitter shortly after 9:30 a.m. that Southwest asked the agency to pause the airline’s departures. The pause was lifted about 10:10 a.m.

According to FlightAware.com, 53 Southwest flights have been delayed at KCI, which has the airport code of MCI.

A check of Southwest flights on the flykc.com website shows only one remaining departing flight of the day listed as being delayed. However, several departing flights have later estimated departure times than their scheduled time.

For example, Flight 1549 to San Diego, which was scheduled for a departure at 11:25 a.m., has an estimated departure of 12:17 p.m.

Several arriving flights listed as “On Time” also have later estimated arrival times than their scheduled times, according to the website. Only four of the remaining flights arriving Tuesday are listed as delayed.

Passengers with reservations for Southwest flights are able to re-book their travel without paying any additional charges, the airline announced in a travel advisory.