Southwest Airlines pilots’ union raises safety concerns over fatigue

Union officials say Southwest Airlines pilots are suffering from a fatigue epidemic due to the airline’s poor programming practices and that it is causing security problems.

Union leaders said in an open letter Tuesday to Southwest CEO Robert Jordan and other executives that the problems began last summer when the number of travelers returned almost to normal pre-pandemic levelsand they have gotten worse.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, which is currently negotiating with the airline for a new contract, said the number of pilots requesting to be relieved of a flight assignment due to fatigue had increased by 330%. in March compared to the same month as the years before the pandemic.

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“April is already setting fatigue records,” they said. “Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines’ No. 1 security threat.”

Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said the airline saw a “significant and steady decline” in pilots who called tired after the airline made schedule changes in November. He said the March increase was expected as weather-related flight cancellations altered schedules.

King said the increase in fatigue calls in March shows that the system is working and that the airline is allowing pilots to determine if they are too tired to fly.

Last year, Dallas-based Southwest, the fourth largest airline in the country, was plagued by flight cancellations due in part to a lack of staff. The airline responded by hiring thousands of workers, executives said.

Airlines persuaded thousands of employees to leave during the the worst of the pandemic after air travel plummeted and airline revenues plummeted. Since then, travel has increased: the number of people flying in the United States exceeded 2 million a day in March, almost 90% of the pre-pandemic figures. Southwest unions and other airlines have called on their airlines to do so hire more pilots.

In recent days, JetBlue Airways has said it will cut some flights this summer due to staffing issues, and Alaska Airlines has blamed the shortage of pilots for increased cancellations and delays.