Southwest cancels 348 more flights on Monday as frustrated passengers queue up at airports after a weekend which saw more than 1,800 cancellations - though pilots deny walking off job to protest vaccine mandate
Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Monday following a weekend of major service disruptions that saw some 1,800 cancellations as the pilots union is denying that its members walked out on the job to protest the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Long lines of stranded passengers formed inside the Southwest terminal at Denver International Airport before dawn on Monday. Southwest canceled more than 140 flights on Sunday out of DIA alone. On Saturday, 102 Southwest flights originating from Denver were canceled while 160 were delayed.
Thousands of passengers have been waiting at the Southwest terminal in Denver since Sunday. Some customers waited in line for hours only to be told at the check-in counter that the earliest flights out of the Mile High City would be on Wednesday, according to KUSA-TV.
'I started looking through (online) and there is just nothing, nothing, nothing for the next few days,' Ainsley Parfitt, who flew to Denver from Florida this past weekend to shop for a wedding dress with her future sister-in-law, said.
Parfitt received a text message indicating that her flight back to Florida, which was scheduled for Sunday, was canceled. She and other stranded passengers waited on hold for hours trying to book tickets through other airlines.
'I have been on the phone since 4:30am this morning on hold, waiting for somebody to answer. I am still waiting,' said Jeff Coles, a doctor who is trying to get home in time to see patients on Monday.
'There is nothing available at any price point today, tomorrow or Tuesday.'
Southwest has either reimbursed stranded customers whose flights were canceled or provided $200 vouchers for those who rebooked, but frustrated passengers said that if they need to stay at hotels and rent cars for longer periods of time, the vouchers won't cover their expenses.
The Federal Aviation Administration has denied reports of a 'mass sickout' at the air traffic control center at Jacksonville International Airport, which was said to have affected Southwest.
'No FAA air traffic staffing shortages have been reported since Friday,' the agency said in a statement.
Long lines of stranded passengers formed inside the Southwest terminal at Denver International Airport before dawn on Monday
On Sunday, Southwest canceled more than 140 flights out of Denver International Airport alone
On Saturday, 102 Southwest flights originating from Denver were canceled while 160 were delayed
Southwest Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Monday following a weekend of major service disruptions. The above table shows the flights cancelled and delayed on Monday, with Southwest reporting the highest number of all major airlines
According to Flightaware, the carrier has cancelled 348 flights Monday and delayed another 303 flights. Most of the cancellations and delays affected airports with a large Southwest presence, including Denver, Dallas, Baltimore, Houston, Las Vegas, and Chicago.
Passengers took to social media to upload photos and post complaints about the difficult experiences at airports.
One Twitter user who identified as 'Sierra' tweeted that they were on their way home to Dallas from Las Vegas and had to endure three delays before arriving at Love Field.
After arriving in Dallas, Sierra observed that 'hundreds of people' were at the terminal 'without flights, food or lodging and that they were 'stuck in the airport this evening.'
Another Twitter user who goes by the handle 'Sonoran Trail Davis' posted a photo showing a man lying down on the floor inside an airport terminal in Nashville. The man is using what appears to be a small fanny pack as a pillow. There's a t-shirt covering the man's face.
'Thanks Southwest Air! Love spending the entire day at Nashville's airport,' the Twitter user wrote.
'Keep standing up for what you believe in while I lay on the scraggly carpet instead of seeing my dogs.'
Another Twitter user who goes by the handle 'Sonoran Trail Davis' posted a photo showing a man lying down on the floor inside an airport terminal in Nashville. The man is using what appears to be a small fanny pack as a pillow. There's a t-shirt covering the man's face
One Twitter user who identified as 'Sierra' tweeted that they were on their way home to Dallas from Las Vegas and had to endure three delays before arriving at Love Field. After arriving in Dallas, Sierra observed that 'hundreds of people' were at the terminal 'without flights, food or lodging and that they were 'stuck in the airport this evening'
Frank Spicher tweeted a photo of a 'baggage graveyard' in Baltimore. The photo showed what appear to be hundreds of abandoned suitcases inside the baggage claim at Baltimore Washington International
The Twitter user added: 'Looking forward to taking a bus from Las Vegas to Phoenix tomorrow. Great work team!'
Frank Spicher tweeted a photo of a 'baggage graveyard' in Baltimore. The photo showed what appear to be hundreds of abandoned suitcases inside the baggage claim at Baltimore Washington International.
The Dallas-based airline had blamed air traffic control issues and weather for its weekend 'operational challenges' that saw over 1,000 cancelled flights on Sunday alone. Southwest Airlines was the only airline to report the issues on that scale.
American Airlines cancelled just two percent of its flights while Spirit Airlines axed two percent of theirs, according to FlightAware.
The Dallas-based airline’s president, Mike Van de Ven, reportedly told staff late on Sunday that Southwest is still suffering from staffing issues and that 'we'll need to continue to adjust our schedules as this environment evolves.
'We've already made significant reductions from our previously published November and December schedules, and if we think we need to do more, we will,' Van de Ven said in a message to employees, which was obtained by CNBC.
The president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association told News4Jax that the delays were due to staffing and a 'poorly run operation.'
'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,' a press release by the union said.
Meanwhile, Southwest blamed a combination of inclement weather and staffing shortages at Jacksonville Air Traffic Control Center in Florida for the disruption.
Meanwhile, passengers have taken to social media to accuse Southwest competitors, including American Airlines, of price gouging after reports that flights out of Dallas were costing upwards of $1,700 per ticket.
Southwest has struggled all summer with high numbers of delayed and canceled flights.
At the start of trading on Wall Street on Monday, shares of Southwest Airlines dipped by more than 2.6 percent
The highest number of delays and cancellations on Monday were reported at Southwest hub airports including Dallas and Houston
Passengers queue up at the ticketing counter for Southwest Airlines flights in Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska on Sunday
A flight information board shows cancellations for a number of Southwest Airlines flights at Dallas Love Field on Sunday
In August it announced it was trimming its September schedule by 27 flights a day, or less than 1 percent, and 162 flights a day, or 4.5 percent of the schedule, from early October through November 5.
Last week, Southwest became the latest airline to announce it was imposing a vaccine mandate on its staff.
The Dallas-based company said its workers must be fully vaccinated by December 8 in order to remain at the airline.
Employees can seek approval to skip the shots due to medical or religious reasons.
One analyst said a possible reason for the weekend outages may be a work slowdown by pilots who oppose the mandate.
The pilots union denied it was part of a job action.
In premarket trading, shares of Southwest Air slipped 2.6 percent.
Senator Ted Cruz has blamed what he called an 'illegal vaccine mandate' for mass flight cancellations by Southwest Airlines, which left thousands of passengers stranded over the weekend.
Cruz took to Twitter on Sunday to share an article on the nearly 2,000 cancellations by the airline, writing: 'Joe Biden's illegal mask mandate at work!
'Suddenly, we're short on pilots & air traffic controllers.'
Last Monday, Southwest Airlines became the latest US airline to require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in line with President Joe Biden's COVID plan.
The company said its 54,000 employees must be fully vaccinated by December 8 or they will lose their jobs. Medical and religious exceptions may be sought.
Last week, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue also announced their own vaccine mandates.
United Airlines announced their mandate in August for its 67,000 staff. Since then, more than 97 per cent of workers have been vaccinated.
Last month, nearly 600 United employees faced termination for refusing to get vaccinated but last week, the airline said that figure had dropped to 320.
Southwest nixed more than 1,800 flights during the weekend, leaving passengers stranded
A passenger and his child were left sleeping on the floor after being stranded in Las Vegas
A passenger at Orlando International Airport shared a picture of four children sleeping on the floor due to flight cancellations
Long lines due to Southwest Airlines flight cancellations over the weekend
The 2,000 United employees who sought religious or medical exceptions will be placed on temporary unpaid leave.
Delta Air Lines has not yet mandated vaccines for its staff of about 80,000 people.
Cruz's comments came amid speculation regarding the cause of the mass cancellations, with a pilot's union blaming a 'poorly run operation' while the airline pointed to bad weather and staff being off after getting vaccinated.
The cancellations came two days after the firm's pilots' union asked a court to block a COVID vaccine mandate, sparking rumors that a pilot walk-out had been to blame for the cancellations.
The association, which represents nearly 10,000 pilots, in a court filing demanded the airline 'cease and desist' the mandate rollout without first reaching an agreement with the union.
On Sunday, Jacksonville Aviation Authority COO Tony Cugno refuted the rumor in a letter to the Board of Directors, and said that the delays were in fact due to staffing issues at the Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).
He claimed that many controllers had been getting their first or second COVID-19 vaccinations, which required them to take two days off to recover - leaving JAX air control short staffed.
In a letter, obtained by ActionNewsJax, he said: 'A rumor is circulating in traditional and social, media outlets stating JAX Center was closed due to an organized walkout late Friday by controllers in response to the FAA's mandate that all employees get vaccinated for COVID.
'A contact at FFAA confirmed they did have some staffing issues at JAX center last Friday, however, those staffing issued were due to the following: Normal approved leave (and) controllers who received either their first or second dose of the vaccine and by policy are required to stay home for 48 hours to self monitor for side effects ... thus creating some staffing issues.'
Passengers took to Twitter to speculate over the vaccine lawsuit after rivals axed far fewer flights; American Airlines cancelled 63 flights Sunday, while United cancelled nine trips.
'This has nothing to do with weather,' said one Twitter user. 'Thanks for ruining our week with our grandkids.
'At least admit it was due to selfish pilots.'
'Disappointed in southwest,' another wrote. 'Don't lie about weather and cancellations. Have been a big fan... hard to be today with late flight cancelled'.
Others were less concerned about the cause of the cancellations, than frustrated about an apparent lack of communication from the airline.
'I understand that the delays and cancellations are out of your control but we did not receive any notification that my flight had been cancelled from philly. I only found out after I checked to make sure my flight was on time,' a 'long time customer' wrote on Twitter.
'4 little kids sleeping on the floor of #mco because @SouthwestAirlines 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'.
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