"SWAPA is aware of operational difficulties affecting Southwest Airlines today due to a number of issues, but we can say with confidence that our pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions," it said.
In a statement Saturday, the airline's pilot union, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said that's not the case. That's because, for example, a Southwest flight departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the airline's home base of Dallas may make multiple stops along the way.īut Harteveldt told The Associated Press the most troubling reason is the likelihood that some pilots who oppose Southwest's decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations are participating in an illegal job action where they call in sick or are engaging in a "work slowdown." He also noted that Southwest operates what's known as a point-to-point route network, and when a delay occurs, it "cascades" along the remaining flight segments. Harteveldt, president and travel industry analyst at The Atmosphere Research Group, based in San Francisco, points to other causes for the cancellations.įirst, he says Southwest has scheduled more flights than it can handle, a problem that started in June. The Dallas-based company said it has to mandate vaccines because of new rules from the Biden administration for companies with federal contracts.Īnti-vaccine "work slowdown" could be catalyst for cancellations, analyst says MORE: Southwest employees must be fully vaccinated by Dec.
The airline said it is working to recover operations and thanks customers for their patience. Southwest pointed affected customers to its self-service rebooking options on. "Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to aircraft and crews being out of place," an FAA spokesperson said in a statement. The Federal Aviation Administration also told ABC News that it has attributed a few flight cancellations and delays on Friday to severe weather, military training and limited staffing at the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center.
(1/2) /o1scQJ5lLb- Southwest Airlines October 9, 2021 We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual. ATC issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation.
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