Funviralpark Travel troubles cost the couple about $70,000 for a hotel room alone.
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Katie Demko told Insider that she and her fiancé, Michael, were planning to marry in Belize on December 30.
Michael flew to Belize earlier in the week and Demko was scheduled to join him on Tuesday.
She announced the pilot was canceled because she was supposed to be boarding a Southwest Airlines flight with her children.
Demko, who lives in St. Louis, told Insider that the flight was short with three attendants.
There was not another flight to Belize in time for the wedding.
Demko told the outlet that she was “crying all morning” when she was forced to cancel the wedding.
“I have about seven travel agencies and my whole family was sitting there for 18 hours trying to find a way to get there,” Demko told Insider.
“I considered flying to Cancun and taking the bus to Belize, but nothing happened.”
Demko said Southwest has refunded her flight ticket, but she needs to get married in Belize to recoup some of the costs.
Some of her vendors were unable to issue refunds, but were able to postpone the service to a later date.
However, the hotel they were scheduled to stay at will not refund or postpone the group’s reservation.
“In total, well over $70,000 was lost in the Victoria House rooms,” she told Insider.
Southwest Airlines had blamed thousands of flights for being canceled as winter storms swept across the country.
The airline issued a statement claiming it was “adequately staffed and prepared” for air travel and traffic over the holiday week, but the storm forced “flight schedule changes on a daily basis.” rice field”.
“We recognize the inadequacies and sincerely apologize,” the statement continued.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told the Wall Street Journal on Dec.
“Maybe tomorrow will be another tough day.”
He said only one-third of the airline’s schedule would operate on December 27 and 28.
However, US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote in a letter to Jordan:
Buttigieg said the Department of Transportation will investigate Southwest Airlines’ cancellation.
Demko told Insider she hadn’t heard from the airline after she appeared on CNN last Thursday.
“Southwest never tried to reach out to me to apologize,” she said.
She revealed that she was particularly surprised by the lack of contact, given the fact that she frequently uses airlines for work.
“I know they are probably doing a lot of trading because of the overall chaos, but not a single person has been contacted by the company.”
Demko and her fiancé also spent New Year’s Eve separately due to travel disruptions.
“On New Year’s Eve, I sat at home and talked to Michael, who was sitting in Belize, and said Happy New Year,” she said. ”
