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Southwest Airlines canceled at least 1,800 flights just days after its pilots union sued the company for its Covid-19 vaccine mandate.
Southwest was forced to cancel more than 1,000 flights on Sunday, or about 30% of its US schedule, according to the FlightAware website.
And he blamed the “disruptive weather” and air traffic control problems.
But the Federal Aviation Administration said the airlines were having trouble because of their own struggles with personnel and planes.
And 800 more flights were canceled on Saturday, according to the Washington Post.
The airline said in a statement on Sunday that its problems started on Friday due to weather issues at its Florida airports that “were made worse by unexpected air traffic control problems in the same area, causing delays and major cancellations. for us from Friday evening “.
Southwest’s problems with weather and traffic control did not appear to be shared by other airlines.
American Airlines reportedly had around 63 cancellations by early Sunday afternoon and United Airlines had only had nine.
The FAA responded by saying that there were air traffic personnel issues, but the main problem lay with the airlines.
“Flight delays and cancellations occurred for a few hours Friday afternoon due to widespread extreme weather conditions, military training and limited personnel in an area of the Jacksonville air traffic control center.” , the FAA said in a statement Sunday.
“Some airlines continue to have scheduling issues due to planes and crews out of place. “
Southwest said it was trying to reposition planes and crews so service can return to normal.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said in its own statement that pilots, although aware of “operational difficulties affecting Southwest Airlines”, could “confidently state that our pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial action.”
And the union added, “Our pilots will continue to overcome (South West) management’s poor planning, as well as any external operational challenges, and will remain the most productive pilots in the world.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which said Tuesday it was filing a temporary restraining order against the Dallas airline related to its August lawsuit over the Covid-19 warrants.
Southwest says all of its employees must be vaccinated against Covid-19 by December 8 or else they will lose their jobs.
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