NEW YORK -- Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend, blaming the woes on air traffic control issues and weather.

       The airline canceled more than 1,000 flights, or 28% of its schedule, as of 2 p.m. ET Sunday, according to flight tracker FlightAware. That was the highest rate by far of the major U.S. airlines. Next in line were Allegiant and Spirit, which had respectively canceled 5% and 4% of their flights on Sunday, according to the flight tracker. American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights.

       Southwest could not immediately be reached for comment, but took to Twitter on Saturday.

       “TC issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation," it said on its Twitter account. “We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected customers, and customer service wait times are longer than usual.”