Southwest agreed that they were canceled due to lack of staff

The company said in a statement that problems began Friday evening with cancellations “mainly related to weather and other external restrictions” that did not allow flights and crew to operate as scheduled on Saturday evening.

“Lack of planes where they should be”, combined with “constant pressure on manpower” created additional cancellations, which resonated over the weekend and until Monday, Southwest added.

According to CNBC, Southwest’s director of operations also indicated in a message to employees that the company did not want to be “yet” on staff, “especially on flight crews”.

Mike Van de Wen said the company had reduced the number of flights already scheduled by the end of this year and could cancel more.

Like other U.S. airlines, the Southwest has allowed many employees to leave early in the epidemic, with air traffic abruptly declining, but has resumed operations since spring and is rushing to hire.

The airline company said earlier flights over the weekend were related to adverse weather and unexpected air traffic control issues.

Unusually, the US Aviation Regulator (FAA) said in a tweet on Sunday that “there is no shortage of air traffic controllers” [n’avait] Reported from Friday “.

“Some airlines continue to face schedule problems due to a lack of flights and staff,” the FAA added.

Southwest canceled a total of more than 800 flights on Saturday, 1,124 on Sunday and another 326 on Monday, according to specialist site Flight Aware. This is more than any other American company.

“We hope to be able to fully revamp our flight plan as soon as possible,” Southwest said Monday evening.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) on Sunday denied rumors that some pilots or company employees were involved in the retreat in protest of the company’s decision to shut down its employees. Vaccinate against COVID-19.

The company said Monday that operational problems were “not the result of protests by southwestern employees.”