PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2021-10-11 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • No Evidence Southwest Pilots Called Out Due to COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • In early October 2021, a false claim spread on social media that Southwest Airlines canceled a large number of flights due to flight personnel calling out sick in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The rumor was spread in part by elected leaders like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Linked in Cruz's tweet above is an Oct. 10, 2021, CNBC article reporting Southwest stated it canceled 1,800 flights due to bad weather and air traffic control issues. The article actually contradicts the statement made by Cruz in the above tweet, reporting: The labor union representing Southwest's pilots, Southwest Pilots Association (SWAPA), released a statement refuting online rumors that the flight cancelations were the result of vaccine mandates. In the statement, SWAPA president Casey Murray said the massive-scale disruption in Southwest's services were because of management failures and that there was no organized labor action due to vaccine mandates: Murray further stated there is no real-world evidence for a mass pilot sick-out, noting that there was no increase in the rate of pilots calling in sick. Pilot sick days have remained steady in comparison to the summer of 2021, when Southwest experienced a similar meltdown, which was well before the vaccine requirement existed. And then our pilot pickup rate, meaning the extra time they're flying, picking up on their off days, was extremely elevated, Murray told NPR in an Oct. 12, 2021, interview. So our pilots were out there supporting the customers, supporting the airline and doing everything they could. And I'm very proud of them for that. In a phone interview with Snopes, a spokesperson for SWAPA said the cause of the October 2021 meltdown was Southwest's inefficient, dense flight scheduling that runs the risk of stranding a pilot when an event like bad weather occurs. This creates a chain reaction of flight disruptions through out Southwest's service. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tweeted a pointed statement: To be clear: None of the information from Southwest, its pilots union, or the FAA indicates that this weekend’s cancellations were related to vaccine mandates. The claim that Southwest flight cancellations in October 2021 are the result of airline employees calling out due to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement basically conflates two separate and unrelated developments. It's true that Southwest implemented a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which all airline employees must comply with by Dec. 8, 2021. Although SWAPA opposed the implementation of that mandate, it was not, the pilot's union stated, because of anti-vaccine sentiments. Instead, SWAPA stated on Oct. 5, 2021, that their opposition is part of a larger legal issue relating to ongoing labor negotiations, and that the company hasn't come to the table to consult with the union about the mandate. SWAPA stated it would take action by seeking a court order temporarily halting the vaccine mandate. It's also true, as we noted, that Southwest canceled a large number of flights, resulting in chaos at airports in early October 2021. CNN reported that the number of flights canceled as of Oct. 11 was topping 2,000. Although the airline attempted to explain the meltdown by pointing the finger at bad weather in Florida and air traffic control issues, various news outlets observed that other airlines didn't have issues at nearly the same scale that Southwest did. The pilot's union blamed bad management. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url