MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Why did Southwest cancel 1,800 flights? Thousands stranded amid vaccine 'sickout' rumors

'We can say with confidence that our Pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions,' stated SWA Pilots Association

Over the weekend of October 9 and 10 2021, Southwest Airlines (SWA) canceled over 1,800 flights all over the US. The sudden last-minute cancellations left thousands of travelers stranded, and many fuming with the chaos that has been caused. An exact reason for the mass cancelation is also not available, with contrasting stories being issued by the airlines, the FAA, the union, and of course social media.

It's the latest major setback to the embattled airline, already under massive pressure after multiple news stories have come out over the past year. In April, pilot Michael Haak was charged after he exposed his genitals on a flight to Florida. Then in May, another pilot was caught ranting on a hot mic about the San Francisco Bay Area’s "goddamn liberal f--ks' and 'f-----g weirdos." In March 2020, an SWA employee was arrested for hiding a camera inside the children's bathroom at Seattle airport.

RELATED ARTICLES

Mother, daughter kicked off Southwest Airlines after video of them creating a scene goes viral

Southwest plane tragedy: Mother-of-two killed after being sucked out of plane during mid-air engine explosion

The mass cancelation affected SWA's hubs at Denver, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Dallas, as well as airports in Florida. This comes after a particularly rough June and July, where SWA recorded the greatest percentage of canceled flights of any of the nation's four major airlines. Responding to that revelation, SWA promised to schedule fewer flights in the fall, but it appears that even that promise hasn't helped.

Why did SWA cancel so many flights?

Over the long weekend, the airline was forced to cancel around 27% of its daily operations. October 9 saw 808 flights canceled, followed by a massive 1,019 flights on Sunday, October 10. In a statement to PEOPLE, SWA blamed the weather, and issues with air traffic control. "We experienced weather challenges in our Florida airports at the beginning of the weekend, challenges that were compounded by unexpected air traffic control issues in the same region, triggering delays and prompting significant cancellations for us beginning Friday evening," they said. 

But, the FAA was quick to hit back and fact-check SWA. They did confirm that there were weather and staffing issues, but only in Jacksonville, Florida on October 8. "No FAA air traffic staffing shortages have been reported since Friday. Flight delays & cancellations occurred for a few hours Friday PM due to widespread severe weather, military training, & limited staffing in one area of the Jacksonville en route center," they tweeted. 

Furthermore, data shows that the mass cancellations appear unique to SWA. American Airlines and Spirit Airlines only canceled 2% of their flights on October 10, which while significant is nowhere near the 1,000+ flights SWA canceled. So what caused the cancelations? The SWA Pilots Association (SWAPA) also said it wasn't involved, firmly ruling out union action. "We can say with confidence that our Pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions," they said in a statement.

The SWAPA also had some strong words for the company, saying, "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." But it appears many on social media didn't read that statement and began forming their own opinions for the strike.

'Make Airlines Great Again!' jokes internet

Despite the SWAPA denying a strike, many on social media believe that the pilots are unofficially striking due to the company's vaccine mandate. The company threatened to terminate any unvaxxed staff, including pilots if they didn't get fully vaccinated by December 8. That order led to a court challenge by the SWAPA, saying the mandate was a violation of the Railway Labour Act.

The court challenge quickly made its way across social media and led many to claim the mandate was the reason for the strike. "Southwest Airlines is on the receiving end of a massive “f--k off” awakening and it’s glorious," one person tweeted. Another said, "If the #SouthwestAirlines situation is really a mandate walkout it is quite a bold real life Atlas Shrugged act." One user co-opted Donald Trump's MAGA slogan and tweeted, "Keep fighting #SouthwestAirlines employees! Make Airlines Great Again!"

One person said, "Thank #SouthwestAirlines pilots for standing up for our rights!" One user mocked, "LOL @ #SouthwestAirlines you tried to gamble that people would bow down to your vax mandates... Your employee's called you on it...owned!" Another said, "Not all heroes wear capes Some work as pilots at Southwest Airlines."

It's important to note that this is merely a theory being spread on social media. The SWAPA clearly denied the allegations, with another statement saying, "there are no work slowdowns or sickouts either related to the recent mandatory vaccine mandate or otherwise." The statement goes on to slam the company, "Our Pilots are tired and frustrated because our operation is running on empty due to a lack of support from the Company." 

SWA itself hasn't responded to that statement or the FAA's tweet. The last tweet the company made was the one blaming "ATC issues and disruptive weather". With that, it's not exactly clear what's going on at SWA, but it clearly doesn't appear good for the company.