It's the dark of night, October 203 in the Colorado Rockies. Two miles above sea level,

on the top of Copper Mountain, a gentle snow begins to fall. It won't be gentle for long.

The snowfall is part of an early winter storm, and that storm is marching east toward Denver

International Airport. There, Southwest Airlines officials have been nervously awaiting this storm

for days, and that's because they've spent months

and tens of millions of dollars shoring up those defenses after the company's epic meltdown

a year ago. Just before Christmas, in 2022, a winter storm slammed into Denver International

and quickly spread east.

Southwest was overwhelmed.

The airline lacked enough winter gear like de-icing trucks to fight back against the frigid conditions.

And when combined with their completely outdated crew scheduling software, the airline

went into a tailspin.

Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights and stranded 2 million passengers over nine days

before it fully recovered.

The meltdown prompted a congressional inquiry, public outcry, and an impending

Department of Transportation fine.

Southwest vowed to shore up its winter operations and its scheduling software.

And as dawn breaks over Denver International, Southwest is about to find out if it's ready.

Last year, Southwest bound itself outgun not just by the storm, but also its competitors.

Here in Denver, United had nearly twice as many de-icing trucks per plane as Southwest.

This year, though, Southwest has bolstered its brigade, adding 15 more de-icing trucks.

As Southwest's planes taxi away from gates, the de-icing crews roll into position.

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