Southwest says flight schedule will "return to normal" on Friday

Driving the news: The airline said Thursday it is "eager to return to a state of normalcy" on Dec. 30 with "minimal disruptions" ahead of another busy holiday travel weekend.

• "We are encouraged by the progress we've made to realign crew, their schedules, and our fleet," the airline said.
• Employees are working "around-the-clock" to help customers and crew members, the company said.
• "Our crews are showing up in every way throughout this challenge," the airline said. "We're grateful for the heroic efforts of all our people to serve our customers."

By the numbers: Southwest had at least 2,363 flights canceled as of Thursday evening, about 57% of its operations, according to FlightAware data. Another 221 flights were delayed.

• There were more than 2,300 Southwest cancellations on Wednesday and thousands more earlier this week.

• Southwest has canceled more than 15,000 flights in the past week, according to a Wall Street Journal tally.

What's next: Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan apologized publicly for the travel nightmare, saying the carrier will look to help customers who suffered from delays, cancellations and lost baggage.

More from Axios:

• Transportation Department to review Southwest's mass flight cancellations
• Major winter storm threatens to upend holiday travel
• Flight delays, cancellations continue as storm rolls on

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details on canceled flights.