Southwest Cancels Midway Flights After Running Out Of De-icer

CHICAGO, IL — A low supply of de-icing fluid at Midway Airport caused Southwest Airlines to cancel more than 200 flights Sunday, according to the air carrier. Southwest told customers that it is "currently planning to resume normal operations through Chicago" on Monday, the airline said on its Twitter account.

"With large amounts of deicing happening [at Midway], deicing fluid is limited," the airline stated in its explanation for not having enough glycol, which is used to keep ice off airplanes.

In a statement to the Chicago Tribune, a Southwest representative said 220 flights were pre-emptively grounded by the airline Sunday. As of 8:30 p.m., 264 flights had been cancelled at Midway, leaving other airlines responsible for the 44 other cancellations, according to the website for the Chicago Department of Aviation, which oversees the city's airports.

This is the second time this winter that Southwest has faced a shortfall when it comes to de-icer at Midway. The airline cancelled nearly 90 flights in late December because of low supplies of glycol, according to the Tribune.

RELATED: Winter Snowstorm: Thousands Of Flights Grounded In Chicago

The cancellations Sunday were another disruption for travelers following the first major snowstorm of the winter, which grounded thousands of flights Friday at Midway and O'Hare International Airport. Several airlines offered to drop change fees for customers wishing to rebook flights ahead of the severe weather.

Photo by M. Spencer Green | Associated Press