1,300 Southwest Airlines pilots protest inadequate pay, long hours at Texas airport

Greater than 1,300 Southwest Airways pilots picketed at a Dallas airport Tuesday — saying that they’re overworked and understaffed by the airline firm.

The protest was held at Dallas Love Area as Southwest Airways and the pilots’ union, Southwest Airways Pilots Affiliation, have been within the means of negotiating a brand new contract for 2 years.

The pilots held up indicators that mentioned issues like “Our passengers and pilots deserve higher” and “Summer season of Luv: delayed, rescheduled, cancelled,” in reference to an uptick in flight cancellations because the summer time journey season ramps up.

Flight delays and cancellations have been rising in current months because the airline business faces a scarcity of pilots and can’t meet the elevated journey demand with COVID-19 restrictions lifting internationally.

Whereas the entire business is reeling from the pilot scarcity, SWAPA mentioned Southwest Airways’ poor scheduling practices for pilots has compounded the difficulty.

The union mentioned its 8,300 members have confronted fixed reassignments to flights and last-minute scheduling modifications because the labor scarcity and extreme climate disrupt common flight service. Practically a 3rd of pilots are being reassigned day by day, SWAPA President Capt. Casey Murray mentioned.

Ever-changing schedules, and overscheduling, have led to an uptick in pilots calling out on account of fatigue, SWAPA informed the Dallas Morning Information.

Union leaders hope a brand new contract, which has been within the works since 2020, will assist remedy the difficulty.

Southwest Airways mentioned that it was conscious of the picket line, which was made up of all off-duty pilots, Tuesday and revered its staffers’ proper to protest.

“Southwest Airways respects the rights of our Workers to specific their opinions, and we don’t anticipate any disruption in service because of this single demonstration,” the corporate mentioned in a press release to the Put up. “For 51 years, we’ve maintained a legendary Southwest Tradition that honors our valued Workers.”

Flight cancellations and delays are anticipated to proceed because the summer time journey will increase. Many airways have already scaled again their future flight schedules in anticipation.