Walker’s video has gone viral at a time when anti-vaxxers are trying to gin up the narrative that pilots are leaving their jobs en masse in order to protest the vaccine mandate. On Sunday evening, for instance, after Southwest Airlines announced it would be cancelling more than a quarter of its flights due to an “operational meltdown,” a rumor circulated among those on the far right that the cancellation was due to “sickouts,” or workers using sick leave to stay home to protest the mandate.
There is no evidence that pilots are orchestrating a “sickout” in response to vaccine mandates. The FAA has issued a statement saying that bad weather conditions, in combination with staffing shortages in a Jacksonville control center due to Covid, are the reason behind the cancelations.
I'm sure that this reasoning is just as correct as this asshat's spelling of "cancellations".
tl/dr: Southwest relies on pilots working overtime to make its schedule. Mandate news dampened enthusiasm, pilots stopped jumping for the time and a half, and cascade of problems ensued.
I'm sure that this reasoning is just as correct as this asshat's spelling of "cancellations".
A sort of middle ground explanation:
https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/11/a-southwest-pilot-explains-what-happened-over-the-weekend/
tl/dr: Southwest relies on pilots working overtime to make its schedule. Mandate news dampened enthusiasm, pilots stopped jumping for the time and a half, and cascade of problems ensued.