Southwest Airlines and Pilots Disagree Over Causes of Flight Cancellations

Southwest Airlines continues to reel from recent storms that threw its schedules into disarray.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 03:12 PM ET

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Southwest pilots blame outdated scheduling software for much of the company's cancellation woes this week. [Credit: Pixabay/F.Muhammad]

Key Takeaways:

Southwest Airlines experienced thousands of flight cancellations during a holiday travel period, attributing the disruptions primarily to severe weather.
However, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association blames the extensive issues on the airline's "vastly outdated" software for scheduling and staffing, claiming executives ignored warnings for years.
The ongoing operational "meltdown" has led Southwest to significantly cut its flight schedule and triggered a federal investigation by the Department of Transportation into the airline's controllable cancellations and customer service.

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In the midst of a particularly difficult holiday travel period, Southwest Airlines [NYSE: LUV] is apologizing to passengers for hassles associated with thousands of flight cancellations, the bulk of which the company attributed to poor weather.

Meanwhile Southwest’s pilots blame the airline’s “vastly outdated” software and mismanagement of scheduling and staffing. Many of the resulting problems, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said, could have been anticipated if executives had implemented remedies that pilots and other employees have suggested for years.