Southwest Airlines said on Monday it expects to resume normal service this week after cancelling more than 2,200 scheduled flights since Saturday, blaming unfavorable weather and air traffic issues in Florida.
→ United Airlines fined $1.9 million for tarmac delays.
The airline had canceled 1,124 flights, or 30% of its daily operation, on Sunday and more than 800 trips on Saturday, according to data from flight tracking platform flightaware.com. The website also showed over 360 cancellations on Monday, Reuters reported.
Southwest Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven said in a message to employees late on Sunday that the sudden flight cancellations had caused staff shortages and may lead to a reduction in the number of flights the company can operate in November and December.
→ White House pushes U.S. airlines to vaccinate for staff by December.
Southwest did not give the number of cancellations, but said it was “significant”.
Meanwhile, its pilots union has denied speculation on social media that the cancellations were due to their action.
The union said in a statement on Saturday that it was “aware of operational difficulties” but its pilots were “not participating in any official or unofficial job actions.”
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