HOUSTON – Southwest Airlines canceled about 100 flights across the country Tuesday due to maintenance problems.
The issues are affecting flights at Hobby Airport, where there are a handful of cancellations and about 14 delayed flights.
Southwest said the cancellations and delays could also be weather related.
The operational emergency has to do with mechanical issues with planes.
Southwest Airlines told mechanics last week that they had to show up for work because of the issues.
The company said it needs all hands on deck.
Southwest Airlines said it has 750 aircrafts and, normally, it anticipates as many as 20 planes a day need service.
The company said that, every day last week, that number more than doubled.
The company said there's not a common theme as to what the problems are.
Southwest said operational planners are working behind the scenes to minimize the impact to customers.
Here is a statement from Southwest Airlines:
"Southwest’s maintenance organization continues to operate under a staffing protocol enacted late last week to maximize the availability of Mechanics across all scheduled shifts. We are requiring all-hands-on-deck to address maintenance items so that we may promptly return aircraft to service and take care of our Customers. On an average day, the airline plans for as many as 20 aircraft to be unexpectedly out of service for maintenance items.
"Today, the percentage of out-of-service aircraft, in our available fleet of approximately 750 aircraft, has more than doubled the daily average with no common theme among the reported items. That, along with weather challenges this Tuesday morning, has resulted in approximately 100 cancellations systemwide out of nearly 4,000 scheduled departures.
"We’re asking that Customers check Southwest.com for the latest on their specific flights as our operational planners are actively working in the background to minimize impacts to their travel plans. We do not have city-specific operational cancellation numbers to share."