On Tuesday and Wednesday, over 5,000 flight Southwest Airlines flights have been canceled as the airlines stuck in a country-wide holiday travel disruption that has left thousands stranded. But people whove had to pay unforeseen expenses for food, hotels or rental cars, due to Southwests cancellations or lengthy delays, can now request to have their additional travel expenses reimbursed.

Impacted holiday travelers who have flight cancellations or significant flight delays between Dec. 24, 2022, and Jan. 2, 2023, may submit their receipts for reimbursement consideration to Southwests email page, according to the airlines website. The airline did not specify the minimum length of a significant delay. Reimbursements will also be considered on a case-by-case basis, the airline said.

We will honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation, the airline stated on its website.

Refunds are also available for impacted Southwest travelers. People caught up in the Southwest debacle can request a formal refund on Southwests travel disruption page or call customer support at 1-800-435-9792. Refunds can only be issued for an unused airline ticket.Read More: Heres how to request a refund for canceled Southwest Airlines flights

Due to the thousands of holiday travelers experiencing disruptions with Southwest, the high demand is impacting the airlines ability to connect customers with support staff. Anyone traveling within the next 72 hours is urged to call support at 1-800-435-9792 immediately.

The U.S. Department of Transportation stated it will be examining the operations of Southwest Airlines after over 2,500 of its flights were canceled as of Tuesday morning.Read more: DOT to examine Southwest Airlines operations; over 2,500 flights canceled

Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday called on Southwest Airlines to compensate passengers whose flights had been canceled in the wake of a massive winter storm this weekend that disrupted travel for thousands.

Instead of a holiday spent celebrating with family and friends, passengers are sleeping in airports or desperately trying to reach customer service agents. For those travelers whose holidays have been ruined, there is no real way for Southwest to make this right, Markey and Blumenthal said in a statement.Read more: Senators call for Southwest to issue refunds, reimbursements after cancellations

The two lawmakers called on the company to offer rebooked tickets, ticket refunds, and hotel, meal, and transportation reimbursement, as well as significant monetary compensation to passengers whose flights were canceled.