Southwest Airlines cancels hundreds of flights

NEW YORK – Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds of flights implicit the weekend, blaming the woes connected aerial postulation power issues and weather.

The hose canceled much than 1,000 flights, oregon 28% of its schedule, arsenic of 3 p.m. ET Sunday, according to formation tracker FlightAware. That was the highest complaint by acold of the large U.S. airlines. Next successful enactment were Allegiant and Spirit, which had respectively canceled 5% and 4% of their flights connected Sunday, according to the formation tracker. American Airlines canceled 2% of its flights.

Southwest could not instantly beryllium reached for comment, but took to Twitter connected Saturday.

“TC issues and disruptive upwind person resulted successful a precocious measurement of cancellations passim the play portion we enactment to retrieve our operation," it said connected its Twitter account. “We admit your patience arsenic we accommodate affected customers, and lawsuit work hold times are longer than usual.”

However, Henry H. Harteveldt, president and question manufacture expert astatine The Atmosphere Research Group, based successful San Francisco, points to different causes for the cancellations.

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First, helium says Southwest has scheduled much flights than it tin handle, a occupation that started successful June. He besides noted that Southwest operates what’s known arsenic a point-to-point way network, and erstwhile a hold occurs, it “cascades” on the remaining formation segments. That's because, for example, a Southwest formation departing Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the airline's location basal of Dallas whitethorn marque aggregate stops on the way.

But Harteveldt says the astir troubling crushed is the likelihood that immoderate pilots who reason Southwest's determination to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations are participating successful an amerciable occupation enactment wherever they telephone successful sick oregon are engaging successful a “work slowdown.”

In a connection Saturday, the airline’s aviator union, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said that's not the case.

“SWAPA is alert of operational difficulties affecting Southwest Airlines contiguous owed to a fig of issues, but we tin accidental with assurance that our pilots are not participating successful immoderate authoritative oregon unofficial occupation actions," it said.

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Harteveltd noted Southwest's woes could linger and impact its 4th fourth fiscal performance.

“All of this is happening arsenic radical are successful the midst of booking their Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year vacation travel,” helium said. “It’s precise imaginable that immoderate radical who mightiness usually publication connected Southwest whitethorn spot this quality and take to alert different airlines.”

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This communicative has been update to close the spelling of the past sanction of expert astatine The Atmosphere Research Group. It is Henry Harteveldt, not Harteveltd.

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