Southwest Airlines expands service from San Jose International Airport to eight new destinations

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The historic flooding in Texas is causing massive flight delays and cancellations across the country.

And here in the Bay Area, the celebration of a new route from Mineta San Jose International Airport was also affected.

South West Airlines announced it was expanding service from the airport to eight new destinations. However, as fate would have it one of the new non-stop destinations is Houston's Hobby Airport. "We did tone down the celebration here today because honestly it just didn't feel right," South West Vice President Controller Leah Koontz said.

A photo of a runway at Houston's Hobby Airport showed flood water completely covering it as Hurricane Harvey rolled through.

There were 500 Southwest employees and customers stuck inside the terminal. "Last night the FAA gave us permission to operate five rescue flights out of Houston Hobby, so we were able to evacuate those last customers and employees to Dallas," Koontz said.

FULL VIDEO: President Donald Trump promises federal aid to storm-ravaged Texas

Bay Area rescue crews headed for Houston Monday to help those in need. Firefighters from several different departments, including San Jose, Palo Alto and South San Francisco packed up five vehicles and 10 boats in trailers at the Menlo Park Fire District headquarters.

By 8 a.m. on Monday, they had driven to Flagstaff, Arizona covering nearly 800 miles overnight. The 14-person team specializes in water rescues and are loaded up with equipment to last them a couple of weeks. "Success is really measured by going out there and saving people, and that's what they're looking forward to doing," Menlo Park Fire District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said.

The team will continue to drive to Texas and is expected to arrive at 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Click here for more stories and video on Hurricane Harvey.