![]() “Since 2011, SWA has averaged one major operational failure every 18 months,” the testimony says. The pilots’ union is prepared to testify that Watterson and Jordan, who took office just over a year ago, “inherited a massive, complex operation held together by duct tape and baling wire.” Technology failures were predictable and avoidable because the system has failed multiple times “with increasing frequency and magnitude.” The Department of Transportation is investigating, including whether the airline scheduled more flights than it could handle. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan apologized and the airline offered reimbursements for passengers’ costs, along with bonus points. More than 16,700 flights were canceled and 2 million passengers stranded, scuttling holiday plans and leaving mountains of unclaimed baggage nationwide. But while other airlines managed to recover their schedules, Southwest’s legacy technology and manual scheduling processes could not keep up with the rate of changes. The massive meltdown began in the wake of a large winter storm at Christmastime, one of the busiest travel windows of the year. Insiders at Southwest reveal how the airline's service imploded Southwest blames the ongoing issue on its IT software, which it called 'vastly outdated.'Southwest Airlines schedule meltdown continues, Baltimore, USA - Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The airline has canceled nearly 11,000 flights since a winter storm barreled through the US on 22 December. Mandatory Credit: Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13686591k)Southwest Airlines planes at Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) after Southwest Airlines cancelled another 3,000 flights for the day in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 28 December 2022. Lawmakers are set to question Southwest executive Andrew Watterson, alongside Southwest pilot union president Casey Murray, Sharon Pinkerton of the Airlines for America trade group, Paul Hudson of Flyers’ Rights, and economist Clifford Winston of The Brookings Institution. “Scheduling is so far behind we were told we aren’t allowed to walk over and talk to them.” “No updates here,” another cockpit computer message to pilots read. (The message and others are seen in all capital letters, standard for this type of cockpit display.)Īs planes stood still at the height of the debacle, crewmembers sat stranded, unable to communicate with their dispatchers and schedulers. It’s a mess down here.”Ī photograph of the message, which shows the extent of the airline’s breakdown, is included in testimony the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association union, SWAPA, plans to present at a Senate Commerce committee hearing. “Sched is asking to confirm who is operating this flight,” the message read. Southwest meltdown may cost the airline up to $825 millionĪmong the union’s evidence is a message sent during the meltdown to a cockpit computer from the airline’s dispatchers asking what crew is onboard the plane. More than 15,000 flights have been canceled by Southwest since winter weather began impacting air travel on December 22. A traveler searches for a suitcase in a baggage holding area for Southwest Airlines at Denver International Airport on Decemin Denver, Colorado.
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