Southwest Airlines pilots union writes scathing open letter to company executives after holiday trav

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

travel fiasco

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association has published a letter denouncing the airline's leadership as a "cult" that they say has spent the past 15 years destroying the company's legacy, culminating in the 2022 travel meltdown that left thousands of holiday travelers stranded.

The union, which remains locked in heated contract negotiations with Southwest Airlines, published the letter Dec. 31. It was signed by Capt. Tom Nekouei, a union vice president.

Nekouei says systemwide meltdowns at Southwest Airlines have increased in frequency and magnitude over the past 15 years, citing not just the December failures that left Southwest passengers stranded nationwide, but also incidents from years past. Those include a series of “meltdowns” at Chicago Midway International Airport in January 2014, leading to 130 flights there being canceled; a router brownout issue in July 2016 that caused 2,300 flights to be canceled; and an October 2021 air traffic control problem in Jacksonville that led to 29% of Southwest’s flights being delayed or canceled.

Nekouei laid the blame on Southwest chairman and former CEO Gary Kelly. Kelly served as Southwest CEO from 2004 until last February and replaced Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher as chairman in 2008.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/southwest-airlines-pilots-union-writes-scathing-open-letter-to-company-executives-after-holiday-travel-fiasco/ar-AA15Wwbc