Vinay Patel: California superdad drives 1,100 miles to Denver to pick up daughter stranded by Southwest
SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: Southwest Airlines reportedly planned to resume operations on Friday, December 30, but a concerned father from Simi Valley couldn't wait any longer to see his beloved daughter because of the delay.
Vinay Patel's daughter was reportedly stranded in Denver on December 24 after the embattled airline was fraught with delays and cancellations amid widespread blizzards and snow storms. She was eventually re-booked on a flight for New Year's Eve, but Patel and his wife couldn't wait any longer. The concerned parents subsequently hopped in their car and drove a staggering 1,100 miles through a winter storm to Colorado.
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"We can see the change in her voice when she heard that we were in the city of Denver and 15 minutes away from her," Patel told ABC 7. "You can feel the difference in the excitement of her voice," he gushed. The doting father said he wouldn't think twice about doing it again if he had to. "If I have to, I have to. I can do it 100 times," he remarked. The journey reportedly lasted over 15 hours in the car each way, totaling 2,200 miles, and a one-night stay in a Denver hotel to rest. Patel explained that he couldn't sit back and hope for the best while his daughter was stranded alone in a city where she barely knew anyone -- as well as the lack of a guarantee that Southwest Airlines would get their act together. "They need to be realistic to tell what's happening so they can plan," Patel said.
This is Vinay Patel of #simivalley aka #superdad Patel’s daughter was stranded in Denver alone and after two days of #southwest delays/cancellations, Patel and his wife got in their car and drove 1100 miles to pickup their daughter in CO!!! Watch our report @ABC7 5pm 💙 pic.twitter.com/LStNmxxFJb
— Josh Haskell (@abc7JoshHaskell) December 29, 2022
The super dad said he would have left a day earlier and that his daughter would've been home if Southwest had communicated better. He told the outlet that the worst part was how his daughter was stranded, aside from the fact that they now only have limited time together before the holidays come to an end. "Their logistics system sucks. They were misrepresentative to the customers. Even when I left Columbus, they knew their system was screwed up and put us on those planes and got us all in the queue," one Southwest customer identified only as Sylvia told ABC 7.
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Southwest canceled around 300 flights at Southern California airports Thursday, and more than 2,000 nationwide. The embattled airline has blamed the winter storm for the disarray, but pilots and flight attendants believe the cancelations had nothing to do with the weather but rather an outdated software system. Some unions said they had warned Southwest prior to the meltdown, and now the airline is being scrutinized by lawmakers and federal regulators.
Southwest Airlines flight attendants represented by TWI Local 556 call out the airline company for massive cancellations that are also leaving flight attendants stranded and blame years of neglect to technological improvements that would fix operational issues pic.twitter.com/EpPe0ICr59
— Michael Sainato (@msainat1) December 27, 2022
While Southwest Airlines hoped to return to normal operations Friday, it was unlikely that several lost bags would make it to the hands of their owners by then. "I just feel bad for people that didn't have family. I had family there who were stuck without a means, without a hotel," Sandra Rome, who was also stranded in Denver for four days, told ABC 7. "At least I had family. At least I had my medication with me," she added.