United Airlines began investigating who leaked the Republican Senator’s flight information through Texas Ted Cruz for his return trip from Cancun, Mexico, to Texas earlier this week.
Cruz faced widespread criticism for traveling to the Mexican beach, while millions of his constituents in his home state were left without light, water or heating amid severe winter storms. Some Texans also died of weather-related causes during storms.
At around noon on Thursday, Edward Russell, a leading airline reporter in the travel industry publication Skift, said on Twitter that a United Airlines source told him that “Senator Ted Cruz rescheduled his return flight. to Houston from Cancún for this afternoon around 6am today (Thursday). “
“[Cruz] was scheduled to return on Saturday, “added Russell.
Spoken to a United Airlines source, Senator Ted Cruz rescheduled his flight back to Houston from Cancún for this afternoon at around 6 am today (Thursday). He was originally scheduled to return on Saturday.https: //t.co/QV9xgibIQ9
– Edward Russell (@ByERussell) February 18, 2021
United Airlines said Newsweek on Friday that “It is against United’s policies to share personal information about our customers and we are investigating this incident.”
Politicians and online commentators had already started criticizing Cruz on Wednesday night, when online photos of Cruz and his wife, Heidi Cruz, appeared at the airport. The photos showed Cruz and his wife at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, waiting to board their flight.
Cruz received even more criticism on Thursday after the senator tried to explain his trip.
“With classes canceled during the week, our girls asked to take a trip with friends. Wanting to be a good father, I flew with them, ”said Cruz. “My team and I are in constant communication with state and local leaders to find out what happened in Texas,” he added.
When confronted on Thursday by a reporter at Cancún airport, Cruz said he was returning home to help restore power to the Texans cut by the storms. He later called the trip “a mistake” and said he decided to return after witnessing the controversy his trip caused online.
Alex Wong / Getty
The Texas Democratic Party called Cruz’s actions “disturbing and disappointing” and told him to resign. Minnesota Democratic MP Ilhan Omar and Cruz’s former political rival, Beto O’Rourke, also criticized him.
“[Cruz] is on vacation in Cancún now, when people are literally freezing to death in the state for which he was elected to represent and serve, “O’Rourke told MSNBC.
After returning to his home in Houston, Cruz was met by angry protesters shouting for his resignation. Numerous Texas newspapers criticized Cruz for leaving the state during a time of crisis. The progressive political action committee No Excuses has also pledged to run a new ad on 147 Texas radio stations criticizing Cruz for his trip.
The senator was also ridiculed on Twitter, where users compared him to immigrants from South and Central America trying to cross the southern border of the United States to experience better living conditions. Photos of a billboard and posters mocking his trip have also gone viral on social media.
Unprecedented snowfall and record cold temperatures initially left more than 4 million Texas residents without power and heating, as the state’s power grid suffered a major outage earlier this week. The Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT), a nonprofit organization that oversees the power grid, said it was unsure when the power would be fully restored.
In an update on Thursday, Republican state governor Greg Abbott said he had requested a declaration of major disaster from the federal government. The statement would allow those affected by the storms to request federal funds to offset any losses not covered by insurance.