Before the day even started for most people on Sunday morning, unhappy Southwest Airline customers were lined up to reschedule their flights. The airline canceled 89 flights out of Phoenix Sky Harbor and thousands of flights across the country.
According to FlightAware, a website that tracks cancellations and delays, Southwest has canceled 1,018 flights and had 597 flights delayed on Sunday alone. On Saturday, the airline canceled 808 flights and had 1,187 flights delayed.
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.@SouthwestAir has already canceled a quarter of today’s flights. Here’s the rebooking line @PHXSkyHarbor just before 6 am pic.twitter.com/Aw1ufJjVY4
— Dawn Gilbertson (@DawnGilbertson) October 10, 2021
The chaos has been attributed by some to a rumored “sick out” by employees who oppose the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
On October 4, the company announced that it had “completed a thorough review of President Biden’s COVID Action Plan and determined that the carrier’s contracts with the U.S. government require full compliance with the federal vaccination directive. Employees of Southwest Airlines must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or be approved for a religious, medical, or disability accommodation, by Dec. 8, 2021, to continue employment with the airline.”
“Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination directive,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines Chairman and CEO. “I encourage all Southwest Employees to meet the federal directive, as quickly as possible, since we value every individual and want to ensure job security for all.”
Apparently the employees aren’t as worried about job security as they are about the controversial vaccine and the even more controversial mandate.
The airline denies that the cancellations stem from the mandate, blaming air traffic control issues and weather.
“We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports yesterday (Friday) evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations. We are working hard behind the scenes to minimize challenges and fully recover the operation as we take care of displaced crews and customers as quickly as possible,” the company told Fox News. “We will continue to reset our network today and hope to return to close to normal operations as we move into Sunday.”
That did not happen, but the pilots’ union publicly blamed it on poor company practices, not mandates. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) said on its website:
“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.
“Our pilots will continue to overcome SWA management’s poor planning, as well as any external operational challenges, and remain the most productive pilots in the world. They will continue to be focused on their highest priority — safety.”
LOL, “weather”….. I’ve personally spoken to multiple friends who fly for Southwest today. It’s not “weather”. Why are journalists so inept? #FakeNews https://t.co/mIlV3owEcf
— Travis Grantham (@TravisGrantham) October 11, 2021
However, a Southwest Airline pilot who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Arizona Daily Independent that opposition to the vaccine mandate is at the center of the current delays.