‘Am I screwed?’ Fliers beg airlines for updates after crashes ground Boeing 737 Max

President Trump announced Wednesday that federal aviation regulators would be grounding Boeing’s 737 Max airplanes — and that news is keeping some airlines’ official Twitter accounts very, very busy.

Passengers on Southwest, American and other airlines have flooded the social network with questions about possible delays, rebooking options, cancellations and more. (Here’s how to check if you’re booked on a 737 Max flight in the first place.)

Some Twitter users said they’re already at the airport, ready to board flights . Others are worried about flights later this week. And one even asked if the 737 Max grounding — announced after a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash over the weekend — could impact a flight that’s not scheduled until September.

One person put it more bluntly than most.

“Am I screwed”? the Twitter user asked in an exchange with American Airlines.

Southwest was responding all afternoon with standardized language. For the most part, airlines — Southwest included — asked fliers to be patient.

“We are aware of media reports stating that the Boeing 737 MAX fleet will be grounded in the United States,” the airline said. “We do not have additional information about individual flights at this time. As always, the most up to date flight status is available on http://Southwest.com .”

Southwest said in a statement Wednesday that it is immediately halting service on its 34 Boeing 737 Max 7 aircraft. Those airplanes represent 5 percent of the airline’s daily flights, according to Southwest. The carrier said it is still confident in the safety of the planes, but is committed to “supporting the current investigations and regulatory concerns” after two deadly crashes of the jets in the last six months.

United Airlines doesn’t fly the Max 8, the aircraft involved in those two crashes, but said in a tweet on Monday that it does have 14 planes in its fleet that are Boeing 737 Max 9s.

“If you prefer not to fly on one we completely understand and will do what is best in our capabilities to find alternative travel arrangements,” United told a self-described “nervous” flier from the airline’s official Twitter account.

The FAA’s order on Wednesday has also grounded the Max 9.

Big-name global airlines such as Air China, Norwegian Air, Lion Air, China Southern and Flydubai also use the Boeing 737 Max, USA Today reports.

This story was originally published March 13, 2019 at 3:04 PM with the headline "‘Am I screwed?’ Fliers beg airlines for updates after crashes ground Boeing 737 Max."