Southwest Airlines cancels and delays thousands of flights

By Leslie Josephs -

Southwest Airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights on Sunday, 27% of its schedule, while disruptions, which the airline blamed on air traffic control problems and bad weather, affected the travel plans of thousands of customers.

“We experienced a significant impact on Florida airports [Friday] evening after an air traffic management program imposed by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] was put in place due to

which resulted in to a large number of cancellations, ”Alan Kasher, who oversees daily flight operations, said on Saturday.

The FAA said there were "a few hours" of flight delays Friday afternoon due to

at the Jacksonville Air Route Traffic Control Center, which controls airspace in five parts of Alabama. , Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

"There have been no reported shortages of FAA air traffic personnel since Friday," he added.

“Some airlines continue to experience scheduling challenges due to misplaced aircraft and crews.

Please contact the airlines for details on current flight times. "

Top Southwest destinations -

were hit the hardest by Sunday's cancellations.

Southwest apologized to travelers for the long customer service waits.

The company said in a statement Saturday that it expected "to return to close to normal operations as we move into Sunday."

[Delta airline increases the cost of medical insurance for its employees not vaccinated against the coronavirus by $ 200 a month]

"We are working hard behind the scenes to minimize challenges and fully recover operation while serving crews and displaced customers as quickly as possible," the company said.

The Dallas-based airline

according to flight tracking site FlightAware.

American Airlines, which has a large hub in Miami, by comparison canceled 63 mainline flights, or 2% of its operation, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Spirit Airlines canceled 32 flights, 4% of his programme.

72% of the nearly 4,000 violent incidents on flights this year were due to refusal to wear a mask

Aug. 25, 202101: 46

The

prompted hundreds of cancellations at Southwest over the summer.

The airline cut its schedule after the summer to avoid further disruption.

Other airlines faced worker shortages after encouraging thousands of people to take vacations or buy tickets at the height of the pandemic, only for travel demand to return faster than expected this summer.

Southwest did not immediately comment on whether the staffing shortage contributed to the cancellations this weekend.

The airline has had

Incoming CEO Bob Jordan told Noticias Telemundo's sister network CNBC last month that the company is prepared to cut flights during the spring break season if it doesn't have enough staff to maintain operations.

[A passenger rips out two teeth of a flight attendant.

You will not be able to fly on Southwest Airlines again]

The disparity between Southwest's operation and that of other airlines fueled speculation on social media that employees were saying they were sick.

The Southwest Pilots Association, the company's pilots union, said: "We can say with confidence that our pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial labor action."

A Southwest plane remains at the gate at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 25, 2021.Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg / via Getty Images

"Our pilots will continue to overcome poor planning from SWA management, as well as any external operational challenges, and will continue to be the most productive pilots in the world," he said.

The union noted Saturday that the company's recent announcement that it will comply with the President Joe Biden Administration's requirement that federal contractors must force staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is contributing to the distractions for airmen.

[USA.

lifts international flight restrictions but requires vaccination for foreign visitors]

"Make no mistake: due to months of staffing problems and inefficient scheduling practices, we have been operating at higher than normal operational risk," the union's safety committee told its members in a message Saturday.

Spirit flight cancellations continue: thousands of passengers stay on the ground

Aug. 7, 202101: 14

The

he added.

"All of these challenges have led to added distraction in the cockpit," he warned.

said.

On Friday, the union asked a federal court in Dallas to temporarily block enforcement of the vaccination mandate, claiming it was a unilateral decision and instead required negotiations.