Passengers say Southwest flew their bags to Denver without them after canceling a Christmas Day flight, report says

• Passengers say Southwest Airlines flew their bags to Denver without them on Christmas Day, per NPR.
• The couple said they were planning to fly from Nashville to Denver when their flight was canceled.

Passengers say Southwest flew their bags to Denver without them after the airline canceled their Christmas Day flight.

The couple, Bri Murphy and Peter Ferguson, said they were planning to fly from Nashville, Tennessee, to Denver on December 25 when their flight was canceled, NPR reported.

Murphy told the news outlet their flight was delayed multiple times before it was eventually canceled altogether.

However, despite the cancellation, the couple learned that their bags had arrived in Denver without them, per NPR.

Murphy told NPR that her father-in-law was able to drive to Denver airport and find two of the bags. Another bag, which contained her medication and Christmas gifts, was not with them.

Murphy said she had spent hundreds of dollars on transport and replacing some of her lost belongings, per NPR.

"There's been all kind of these collateral effects that have been frustrating to work through," she said.

Representatives for Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Murphy and Ferguson could not be reached for comment.

Thousands of Americans experienced travel disruptions after Southwest suffered an operational meltdown over the holiday period. The airline announced on December 28 that it would operate only around one-third of its schedule for safety reasons, throwing thousands of Americans' holiday plans into chaos.

A Southwest spokesperson told Insider: "Our aim is to always connect customers and their baggage. During the worst of the storm, at times, we had to move aircraft out of the weather before we had available staff to offload bags."

It added: "There are several high-priority efforts underway to do right by our customers, including processing refunds from canceled flights, and reimbursing customers for expenses incurred as a result of the irregular operations."