Hot week for flights in the United States. In fact, today begins a period in which a few million travelers will take a flight to visit friends, relatives and family to celebrate Thanksgiving together (November 23). This is how the holiday travel season begins overseas, so air carriers are under pressure to try to avoid the chaos of recent years and guarantee an adequate service.

Southwest is among the airlines that have taken numerous measures to strengthen winter operations: investments in technological weather forecasting systems, de-icing devices, staff hiring and worker training. In fact, last December a snowstorm forced the airline to cancel almost 17,000 flights, interrupting the travel plans of two million customers.

"To me that was our preseason game. Now we're much better prepared", said Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson. However, industry experts estimate that this week a historic record of traveling passengers will be reached and at the moment the companies are grappling with various problems: the shortage of traffic controllers, congested airspace, airport limitations. The risk is therefore that many flights will be canceled and delayed.