Southwest says its travel meltdown was partially caused by a 'scheduling issue' and that it'll reimburse 'reasonable requests' for meals, hotels, and travel

• Southwest Airlines in part blamed a "scheduling issue" for thousands of flight cancelations during the holidays.
• At first, the airline blamed the week's travel chaos only on the weather after an arctic blast caused low temperatures, strong winds, and snow across the country.

Southwest Airlines says a "scheduling issue" was partially to blame for the airline's holiday meltdown, sparking thousands of canceled flights and leaving customers stranded in airports across the country.

In a statement to Insider, the airline said a problem with its scheduling tools is partially to blame for the chaos.

"The Southwest Team is working to accommodate Customers on available flights as soon as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience to our Customers," the airline said.

The company also said it'd honor "reasonable" reimbursement requests from customers for things like meals, hotel stays, or other ways to travel to their destination.

"We are encouraging Customers to submit receipts to be considered for reimbursement. We have assisted with hotels in some situations," it told Insider.

According to Southwest's customer service plan, the airline guarantees compensation like meal vouchers and hotel stays for delays and cancellations "that are within our control."

For delays that are out of the airline's control — such as weather events or air traffic control issues — the airline promises to rebook passengers on the next available flight at no extra cost or refund their ticket.

Southwest at first blamed this week's travel chaos on the lingering effects of a brutal blast of arctic air that sent temperatures plummeting and spun blizzards across the country, killing dozens.

The mayhem fell right at Christmas, leaving thousands stuck in airports without luggage or a way to get to their final destinations. Southwest has said that customers may have to wait until December 31 to be rebooked.

Southwest captain Mike Santoro, vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), told Insider that the airline's system is having so many issues, schedulers are sorting out flight crews by hand.

"We had four [flight attendants] ready to work, but the system didn't know where they were so they canceled the flight, but they didn't have to," Santoro told Insider.

Customers who want to rebook their flight or get a refund can go to the airline's "Travel Disruption" page.