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In the past couple of days, the company pushed back on speculation that the recent disruptions were related to workers calling out sick as a way to protest its decision to institute a Covid vaccine requirement. That caused planes and crews to be in the wrong position, escalating into more pervasive problems. In August, the airline reduced its schedule in hopes of fixing operational struggles over the summer that regularly led to dozens of cancellations. Its shares closed up about 1%.įrom Saturday through Monday Southwest scrapped about 2,200 flights, with more than half that number on Sunday alone.Īccording to Southwest, the cancellations can be traced to bad weather and issues with air traffic control in Florida. There were signs that Southwest's operations were improving Tuesday, as 87 flights, or just 2% of its schedule, were canceled. Kelly's comments Tuesday come as Southwest faces heat for widespread flight cancellations in recent days and Monday's sharp decline in the company's stock price. The objective here, obviously, is to improve health and safety, not for people to lose their jobs," said Kelly, who's retiring in February and handing the reins to three-decade Southwest veteran Bob Jordan. "My goal, obviously, is that no one loses their job. Kelly noted Southwest's efforts to encourage employees to receive a Covid shot, adding that individuals also are able to apply for religious and medical exemptions. 1 unvaccinated workers would have to pay an extra $200 per month for company health insurance. Southwest started to offer incentives such as extra pay to spur uptake of the coronavirus vaccine in mid-September, following in the footsteps of other carriers such as Delta Air Lines, American and United.ĭelta later said that starting Nov. employees have shared proof of vaccination after its late September deadline. United said earlier this month that more than 96% of its 67,000 U.S. In August, before the Biden administration's action, United Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines instituted Covid vaccine requirements for their staffs. Southwest's announcement came a few days after other carriers - including American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways - informed employees about the need to adhere to federal vaccine rules.
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8 in order to keep working at the airline under the federal mandate. Southwest said last week that its 56,000 employees needed to be vaccinated against Covid by Dec.