ECON Sickout? Southwest Airlines Cancels 1,000 More Flights As Disruptions Increase

jward

passin' thru
Sickout? Southwest Airlines Cancels 1,000 More Flights As Disruptions Increase
Tyler Durden's Photo

by Tyler Durden
Sunday, Oct 10, 2021 - 02:30 PM
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Southwest Airlines has canceled at least 1,000 Sunday flights as of 12 p.m. ET, according to flight tracker FlightAware, coming after numerous cancelations were reported Saturday.

“We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports [Friday] evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations,” Alan Kasher, who oversees Southwest’s flight operations, in a statement obtained by several news outlets on Saturday.

A group of Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft sit on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 13, 2019. (Ralph Freso/Getty Images)


About 800 Southwest flights were canceled on Saturday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. Other major carriers, including American Airlines and Spirit Airlines, appeared to have significantly fewer disruptions.

The Epoch Times has contacted Southwest for comment, including regarding whether the cancelations were due to staffing shortages related to the firm’s recently announced COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees air traffic in the United States, also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Southwest said in a statement on Saturday that it is attempting to “return to close to normal operations as we move into Sunday.”
“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 said, without elaborating on the nature of the flight disruptions.
[ZH: unsurprisingly, people aren't buying it]


The firm’s Saturday statement also blamed the issue on air traffic control problems and the 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,” Southwest said.
There was speculation on social media that the flight cancelations were being triggered by employees calling in sick en masse. In its statement Saturday, Southwest did not make reference to the speculation.

“Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination directive,” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly announced on Oct. 4, explaining that the company works as a federal contractor and needs to comply with President Joe Biden’s September vaccine mandate for federal employees and contractors. That prompted a lawsuit from Southwest’s pilot union, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which is seeking a court injunction against the mandate.
On its website Saturday, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association blamed the cancelations on “a number of issues, but we can say with confidence that our Pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions,” in an apparent reference to speculations about employees calling in sick.
“Our Pilots will continue to overcome [Southwest Airlines] management’s poor planning, as well as any external operational challenges, and remain the most productive Pilots in the world,” the statement continued. “They will continue to be focused on their highest priority—safety.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, there were long lines at Southwest’s ticket counter in the Tampa airport, according to local media.
B.J. Romero, a passenger, told Fox13, “I have two kids. I have appointments. I have work. I can’t miss work. I have people relying on me, so I have to be home. That’s not going to work for me.”
When asked about whether Southwest’s claim about bad weather caused mass cancelations, Romero balked at the suggestion. “That sounds like baloney to me,” Romero told the station. “The weather is fine in all connecting areas, there’s no bad weather.”
“There’s got to be something behind the scenes they’re not telling us.”

Posted For Fair Use
 

Grounded Idealist

Hope Always
On the one hand I feel bad for all of these travelers who are stranded, frazzled and stressed. There’s not much that is worse than having your life turned upside down by being stranded so far from home. I have traveled quite a bit for both for work and for pleasure. There’s no getting around it—it sucks.

On the other hand, I’m very happy (and, truth be told, a bit relieved that things are beginning to rock and roll a little bit) that this example of the backlash from ‘going woke’ is so large, so public and so in-your-face as to get everyone’s attention even without MSM coverage. Maybe the event will wake more people up as to what’s really going on?? One can only hope.
 

jward

passin' thru
Exactly what Grounded Idealist said: I feel bad for folks, but happy to see it start. I even use the phrase 'time to rock and roll' lol.

..However, I am really wanting a lil trip, and growing ever more frustrated with all the natural and manmade disasters and personal events keep cropping up and conspiring to keep me from it
 

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Baltimore Washington airport (BWI) is a big Southwest airlines hub. Wonder if their traffic has dropped off.
I know there's a drop in Southwest flights into National; haven't seen one Southwest plane on approach all day.
 

Plain Jane

Just Plain Jane
The pilots filed a lawsuit.


Propaganda War – Southwest Airlines Cancels Thousands of Flights, Claims Bad Weather and ATC Issues But Timing is Very Suspicious – Pilots Filed Vaccine Lawsuit One Day Earlier
October 10, 2021 | Sundance | 217 Comments
Southwest-Airlines-Tweet.jpg
The communications teams at Southwest Airlines are struggling to hide the cause of thousands of cancelled flights this weekend and blaming Air Traffic Control and weather issues for the issues [Tweet Link]. However, customers are calling out Southwest for their nonsense, as everyone knows large numbers of Southwest pilots are not showing up to work in protest over the vaccine mandate.

People stranded in airports, and people working in airports, are responding on social media with the truth; but Southwest Airlines is not willing to admit the push-back from the pilots are the real cause. The issue has become exhibit-A in the propaganda war currently raging.
Southwest issue as explained via NBC: “Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights, 27% of its schedule, on Sunday as disruptions that the airline blamed on air traffic control issues and bad weather affected the travel plans of thousands of customers.

“We experienced significant impact in the Florida airports [Friday] evening after an FAA-imposed air traffic management program was implemented due to weather and resulted in a large number of cancellations,” Alan Kasher, who oversees daily flight operations, told staff in a note on Saturday. The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees air traffic, didn’t immediately comment. Southwest apologized to travelers for long customer service waits.” (link)

24 hours earlier Bloomberg News highlighted the real issue: “Southwest Airlines Co. pilots asked a court to temporarily block the company from carrying out federally mandated coronavirus vaccinations until an existing lawsuit over alleged U.S. labor law violations is resolved.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s filing Friday also asked for an immediate hearing on the request before a federal court in Dallas, claiming the carrier has continued to take unilateral actions that violate terms of the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline-union relations. Those steps include the Covid-19 vaccination requirement. (link)
 

jward

passin' thru
Becker News
Becker News


hwest Airlines is Having a Complete Meltdown as Hundreds of Flights Delayed or Canceled in Mass ‘Sickout’
Photo of Kyle Becker Kyle BeckerOctober 10, 2021
5,213
shutterstock_1351591454-780x470.jpg




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Southwest Airlines has become the latest major U.S. airline to mandate that employees receive the Covid-19 vaccination or lose their jobs. The airline is immediately suffering the consequences due to a reported mass ‘sickout’ that is causing severe delays and hundreds of flight cancellations.

“The Dallas-based company said its workers must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 in order to remain at the airline. Employees can seek approval to skip the shots due to medical or religious reasons,” KDVR reported.
The major airline carrier is now suffering severe operational disruption due to widespread reports.
“Southwest Airlines is suffering an operational meltdown this weekend as hundreds upon hundreds of flights have been delayed or canceled outright,” the Points Guy reported. “The airline is blaming weather and an air traffic control issue from Friday for the domino effect of cancellations.”

“Thousands of passengers have been stranded at airports, been forced to wait in long lines, or spent hours on hold trying to rebook their flights,” the report continued.
Screen-Shot-2021-10-09-at-8.53.38-PM.png

“Flight tracking company Flight Aware is reporting 27% of Sunday’s flights have already been canceled as of around 8 a.m.,” the report added. “The airline had said that things might improve today, but so far it’s actually gotten a bit worse. According to Flight Aware, Saturday saw some 800 cancellations. Sunday morning it’s worse with more than 1,000 flights canceled.”
News Nation Now’s Leland Vittert is reporting that there is a mass “sickout” affecting Southwest’s service.
Airline sources: mass “sickout” @FAANews center in Jacksonville – caused ripple effect and 1000+ flight cancellations mostly effecting @SouthwestAir – report “sickout” protesting #VaccineMandate
— Leland Vittert (@LelandVittert) October 10, 2021

“Airline sources: mass ‘sickout’ @FAANews center in Jacksonville – caused ripple effect and 1000+ flight cancellations mostly effecting @SouthwestAir – report ‘sickout’” protesting #VaccineMandate,” Vittert reported.
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Southwest Airlines, however, is providing cover for the operational distruption by claiming there were “ATC issues” and “disruptive weather.”
ATC issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation. We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/o1scQJ5lLb
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) October 9, 2021

The airline then called for customers to use ‘self-service rebooking.’ There were massive flight disruptions across the country reported.
“Florida was among the places hardest hit,” the Points Guy reported. “Tampa International Airport Spokeswoman Emily Nipps told the Tampa Bay Times the FAA imposed an air traffic management program on Friday night that grounded many Southwest planes. That led to a domino effect. Eleven out of 15 scheduled flights to Tampa Saturday night were canceled.”

“It was a similar story Saturday night in the San Francisco Bay Area where local news reported 11 flights to Oakland and 11 more to San Jose International were canceled,” the report continued.
“There were, indeed, major problems at Air Traffic Control in Jacksonville, Florida on Friday night,” the report added. “A staff shortage along with some storms led to many canceled or delayed flights.”
“Due to a combination of severe weather, active military training in the airspace, and unexpected limited staff at the Jacksonville facility that handles high-altitude, en route traffic, the FAA took steps to safely manage air traffic the evening of Oct. 8. Normal operations returned at approximately 10 p.m.,” the FAA claimed.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association is suing over new federal vaccine rules, Bloomberg noted. Both Southwest and American Airlines pilots unions warned that pilots might quit in droves if the federal vaccine mandate is implemented.
“Southwest said it has to mandate vaccines because of new rules from the Biden administration requiring companies with federal contracts to have vaccinated staffs,” KDVR reported. “Southwest’s work for the government includes flying the military in emergencies and carrying mail for the U.S. Postal Service.”


However, the Biden administration’s OSHA regulation that mandates qualifying employers ensure that their employees are vaccinated has not been formally issued despite having been announced over one month ago.
“Last week, rivals American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue told their staff they needed to be vaccinated,” KDVR noted. “United Airlines in August was the first major airline to do so and has since said that more than 97% of its workers have been vaccinated. United also said it would put staff who couldn’t get the shots due to medical or religious reasons on unpaid leave until COVID-19 rates go down.”

NOW READ:
 

et2

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Well if it has legs, it certainly will look bad for China Joe. But the fake news will run cover for him.
 

Sid Vicious

Veteran Member
From what I understand SW is experiencing a complete cascade failure. Basically a little bit of this a little bit of that. Some pilots being out "sick" was the straw that broke the camel's back.
 

jward

passin' thru
Southwest Airlines Cancels 1,000 More Flights, Leaving Travelers Stranded As Some Speculate Vaccine Mandate Protest
By
T. Grant Benson
-
October 10, 2021
0

Screenshot-2463-696x463.png


Southwest Airlines abruptly canceled over one thousand flights over the weekend. The airline blamed air traffic control issues and weather for the disruption as some speculated there may be a strike underway over vaccine mandates.
“Air Traffic Control (ATC) issues and disruptive weather have resulted in a high volume of cancellations throughout the weekend while we work to recover our operation,” Southwest said in a statement Saturday. “We appreciate your patience as we accommodate affected Customers as quickly as possible, and Customer Service wait times are longer than usual. If your travel was affected, please explore self-service rebooking options by checking your flight status on southwest.com.”

The airline has yet to provide another update as the cancellations mounted Sunday.
The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), the pilots’ labor union, said their members were not protesting or staging a ‘sickout.’
“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,” said a SWAPA statement. “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. SWAPA Pilots are true professionals and will always maintain the highest level of responsibility to their crews, their passengers, and our airline.”
4 desk agents as Southwest cancels 1,000+ flights
pic.twitter.com/fO9yBglnNl
— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) October 10, 2021

Soooo don’t fly southwest today! I’ve never seen so many cancelled flights! They’re saying it’s due to “weather” LOL! Okay I’ll pretend I believe it. pic.twitter.com/w1msClCZXm
— Elyssa Mai (@Elyssamai) October 10, 2021

4 little kids sleeping on the floor of #mco because @SouthwestAir lied to us all day & night and then didn’t even have the decency to throw us a blanket. #SouthwestAirlines Will be a miracle if we leave here without #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/9bOh6XetzB
— Becky (@therealbeckyvac) October 9, 2021

Here’s a look at the Southwest check-in line this morning at Midway Airport. Hundreds of flights cancelled across the country yesterday. Southwest says air traffic control issues and disruptive weather causing cancellations and delays. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/OXK1ipb9uJ
— Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) October 10, 2021

Insane lines and crowds at Southwest terminal in Denver pic.twitter.com/cnwhD4808B
— Libs of Tik Tok (@libsoftiktok) October 10, 2021

Just last week, Southwest announced they would comply with President Biden’s ‘COVID Action Plan’ and said 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.”
RT 2m
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmZvpflxKw


RT 2m
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X61az6FodGQ
 

SpokaneMan

Veteran Member
This is a great sign that our pilots won't stand for this bullshit. I would say that at least most of them are ex military pilot jockey's. You can just tell. Ever flown commercial with a pilot who is ex mil? They take that commercial plane almost vertical. And their take offs remind me of that scene in World War Z.
 

Meemur

Voice on the Prairie / FJB!
I have said a prayer for those who must fly as part of their commute to work, as well as those who are stranded. That's a tough spot to be in.

However, I stand with those who are saying "NO" to the vaccines and walking off the job.

If we don't stand up now, we will lose our country.
 

Bolt

FJB
I hope it spreads like wildfire, even to the point of shutting down every major industry in this country. Maybe that's what it's going to take to send a message to this tyrannical administration. And if we all have to experience some inconveniences and discomfort for a bit, so be it. All of us here should already be set to shelter in place if need be.
 
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