Travelers Stranded Across The Country Amid Thousands Of Flight Cancellations

It's a travel nightmare as Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights on Tuesday and more are expected in the days to come.

Southwest Airlines customers are scrambling to find another flight, or even a rental car, so they can get where they need to go.

The airline had the most cancellations of any airline in the US, leaving customers stranded.

“So we decided to rent a car and we drove 18 hours to Oklahoma,” said Rosa Gomez.

"We don't have our baggage and we probably won't have our baggage 'til probably the weekend if at best, hopefully," said Jacob Cipoletti.

FlightAware, a flight-tracking service, said around 2,400 Southwest flights will be canceled Wednesday.

When this happens, people do have rights.

“Airlines are required to reschedule you on the next available flight, might be with a different airline if it’s not theirs. Or offer you a refund," said Leslie Gamble, AAA Oklahoma.

Gamble said it is the airline's responsibility to take care of rebooking costs.

“Generally speaking, if you’re able to have that rebooked, by the airline for a future flight on that airline, there should be no fee charged for the rebooking," said Gamble.

Gamble said it is also airline's responsibility to rebook that flight.

For overnight cancellations, food and hotel vouchers are covered by most major airlines, but it may not always be covered.

“Travelers can request that, they just can’t be assured that," said Gamble.

Southwest has apologized for the issues.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is now calling for Southwest Airlines to make accommodations for customers.

"Right now, they need to be taking care of passengers with compensation for hotel, for meals, for ground transportation, anything that passengers need, in addition to prompt cash refunds for passengers whose flights are canceled," said Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary.

The US Department of Transportation created a website for people to learn about cancellation policies and if you're entitled to compensation, a link can be found HERE.