# Southwest Airlines Strays Passengers



## oldman (Oct 12, 2021)

I'm sure that all or most of everyone here has heard or read about Southwest Airlines having to delay or cancel flights over the past weekend. The reason given by their CEO, Gary Kelly was that it was due to sick or missing air traffic controllers. After speaking with several SWA pilots that I know personally, it is obvious that he is lying. Many of SWA pilots and some flight attendants, gate agents, etc., decided to take a few days off in retaliation for the vaccine mandate. 

According to one pilot, many of the SWA pilots have decided to holdout and try to get the mandate revised or removed. I think he said they have until December 8th to be vaccinated. Some of these pilots have had COVID and believe that they have more than enough antibodies to protect themselves and others from the virus. According to a study done in Israel using 596,000 participants, anyone who had COVID has 43% more antibodies that the vaccine provides. I agree with the pilots. 

https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/...world-glimpse-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-action/


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## WhatInThe (Oct 12, 2021)

There was an ATC 'sick or walk' Fri night and might have continued for a while. There's a video of pilot stating their case if I remember where I saw it I'll post. I know SW employees where one had the virus among other things but their pushing the vaxxes. Some news outlets are giving this lite coverage and tried to explain as weather over the weekend but other airlines didn't seem to have mass difficulties.


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## Gaer (Oct 12, 2021)

oldman said:


> I'm sure that all or most of everyone here has heard or read about Southwest Airlines having to delay or cancel flights over the past weekend. The reason given by their CEO, Gary Kelly was that it was due to sick or missing air traffic controllers. After speaking with several SWA pilots that I know personally, it is obvious that he is lying. Many of SWA pilots and some flight attendants, gate agents, etc., decided to take a few days off in retaliation for the vaccine mandate.
> 
> According to one pilot, many of the SWA pilots have decided to holdout and try to get the mandate revised or removed. I think he said they have until December 8th to be vaccinated. Some of these pilots have had COVID and believe that they have more than enough antibodies to protect themselves and others from the virus. According to a study done in Israel using 596,000 participants, anyone who had COVID has 43% more antibodies that the vaccine provides. I agree with the pilots.
> 
> https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2021/...world-glimpse-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-action/


OldMan,
I saw this on TV and hoped you would comment on it on this Forum!
Government mandates are evasive and an attack on our Civil liberties!
IMO!


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## OneEyedDiva (Oct 12, 2021)

I feel so bad for those people and sure wouldn't want to ever be in that situation...ergo one of the reasons I've avoided flying. My step-daughter posted on FB about being in a similar situation while trying to catch a United Airlines flight. I didn't see that on the news but I believe she had already waited 22 hours when she posted. Gary Kelly's reasons were also disputed by an aviation executive as seen on the news.

Vaccine mandates will add to the shortages we are experiencing already.


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## Murrmurr (Oct 12, 2021)

Gaer said:


> OldMan,
> I saw this on TV and hoped you would comment on it on this Forum!
> Government mandates are evasive and an attack on our Civil liberties!
> IMO!


Yes. The problem is that vax mandates are potentially only a starting point.

Requiring certain vaccinations when traveling to certain regions makes sense.
But requiring a vaccination to keep ones job, receive certain goods and services, get an advanced education, enter a business or certain buildings - that echoes back to a time in history that cannot be repeated.


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## oldman (Oct 12, 2021)

OneEyedDiva said:


> I feel so bad for those people and sure wouldn't want to ever be in that situation...ergo one of the reasons I've avoided flying. My step-daughter posted on FB about being in a similar situation while trying to catch a United Airlines flight. I didn't see that on the news but I believe she had already waited 22 hours when she posted. Gary Kelly's reasons were also disputed by an aviation executive as seen on the news.
> 
> Vaccine mandates will add to the shortages we are experiencing already.


You’re spot on. There is already a shortage of pilots in the industry. It is possible that many senior pilots may take early retirement if the vaccine mandate is pressed, which I believe it will be. Flying is going to get crazy just before the holidays.


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## OneEyedDiva (Oct 12, 2021)

oldman said:


> You’re spot on. There is already a shortage of pilots in the industry. It is possible that many senior pilots may take early retirement if the vaccine mandate is pressed, which I believe it will be. Flying is going to get crazy just before the holidays.


Not only pilots Oldman...it will lessen the amount of nurses, teachers and TAs, home health care workers and those who work for corporations that mandate vaccines.


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## Been There (Oct 12, 2021)

oldman said:


> You’re spot on. There is already a shortage of pilots in the industry. It is possible that many senior pilots may take early retirement if the vaccine mandate is pressed, which I believe it will be. Flying is going to get crazy just before the holidays.


How about baggage handlers and gate agents? Aren’t they included in the mandates? This is just plain crazy.


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## chic (Oct 13, 2021)

Thanks @oldman. I had heard this was pushback against the vaccine mandates and it may be the only thing that helps stop them. It's good to get confirmation from one in a position to know. Do people even begin to understand the ripple effect this is going to have? Vaccine mandates make no sense at all.


And everyone else!


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## Shero (Oct 13, 2021)

I have never flown Southwst airlines, but I will now because of their consideration to health of passengers. I love you Southwest


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## Sunny (Oct 13, 2021)

I usually fly Southwest. Once, on a flight from CA to MD, I got stuck at Midway Airport in Chicago because of a fire in the control tower, which turned out to be minor but resulted in a delay which caused me to miss my connecting flight and I had to spend the night at the airport.

Plenty of complaining and grumbling from everyone, of course, including me, but it was better than taking a chance and landing a plane with a non-functioning control tower. That could have been a real disaster!

I consider this vaccine requirement in the same category. Good for them.


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## oldman (Oct 13, 2021)

Sunny said:


> I usually fly Southwest. Once, on a flight from CA to MD, I got stuck at Midway Airport in Chicago because of a fire in the control tower, which turned out to be minor but resulted in a delay which caused me to miss my connecting flight and I had to spend the night at the airport.
> 
> Plenty of complaining and grumbling from everyone, of course, including me, but it was better than taking a chance and landing a plane with a non-functioning control tower. That could have been a real disaster!
> 
> I consider this vaccine requirement in the same category. Good for them.


With all due respect, I believe that you are comparing apples to oranges. Like I have been saying, I had COVID and also have taken the vaccines and I am in favor of people being vaccinated. However, I also believe in having the freedom of choice and therefore; to ask someone to take a drug that has shown to have severe side-effects in some people just so I can have better peace of mind, sorry, I could not do that. I would never ask anyone to forfeit any of their freedoms for my benefit. If I wanted to feel safer, I would don a mask, which I do at times. 

And this is one of the reasons what makes America a great country. We can agree to disagree. Each person does have the freedom of choice.


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## oldman (Oct 15, 2021)

Will Southwest again repeat their actions of last weekend? Maybe!


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## chic (Oct 15, 2021)

oldman said:


> Will Southwest again repeat their actions of last weekend? Maybe!


Will it help though? Nothing seems to.


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## jujube (Oct 15, 2021)

I just wish the airline personnel would be "honest" with us about the delays.  I've had times when I've heard, "we'll be boarding shortly" repeated several times over the course of a couple of hours and then found out the plane hasn't even left the other airport yet.  I'd much rather hear, "Folks, we don't have a plane for you.  It's going to be somewhere between four to six hours before we can get you out of here".  Then I can plan what to do with that time.  I'd know if I had time for a leisurely meal or to go get a pedicure or massage.

Once, I checked in in Pittsburg for a December flight back to Orlando, so I stuffed my parka into my checked suitcase.  Well, hecky darn, we had a five-hour delay getting out.  Me with no coat and no chance of getting my suitcase back.  BUT, there was an IKEA only a couple of miles away and I had never been in one, so I hopped a cab over, wandered around for a couple of hours, had lunch and caught a cab back.  Alternately, if the airline wasn't forthcoming with the actual delay time, I could have sat in a drafty airport for five hours and fumed.  

To the airlines: Just be honest with us...OK?  In 90% of the cases, you know darn well how long the delay's going to be.  Be upfront and you'll get a lot fewer complaints.  

I can get to a lot of places I like to go on Allegiant, flying out of the small airport in Sanford (Allegiant only at present), three miles from my house.  BUT, if your flight is cancelled, you're not getting on another flight today because there ARE no other flights today.  Maybe not even this week.  I swear, Allegiant only has one plane and it's always stuck somewhere else because of "weather" (they just loooove to blame it on "weather").   At least on one of the larger airlines, if your 6 a.m. flight is cancelled, you just *might* get on the 9 a.m. one...or the noon one.....or the six p.m. one....


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## Jules (Oct 15, 2021)

jujube said:


> I just wish the airline personnel would be "honest" with us about the delays.


YES.


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## CarolfromTX (Oct 17, 2021)

Sunny said:


> I usually fly Southwest. Once, on a flight from CA to MD, I got stuck at Midway Airport in Chicago because of a fire in the control tower, which turned out to be minor but resulted in a delay which caused me to miss my connecting flight and I had to spend the night at the airport.
> 
> Plenty of complaining and grumbling from everyone, of course, including me, but it was better than taking a chance and landing a plane with a non-functioning control tower. That could have been a real disaster!
> 
> I consider this vaccine requirement in the same category. Good for them.


What happened to “My body, my choice?” Waiting….


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## oldman (Oct 17, 2021)

Jules said:


> YES.


I don’t know when you had this problem, but all of the airports that I flew into and out of had what is called a FIDS or a Flight Information Display System, which keeps track of all commercial flights and shows expected time of departure or arrival and if the plane is early or late, it continually updates the plane’s status. This is all handled by terminal controllers, which coordinates with the air traffic controllers. It’s a very closely monitored system. 

There is no advantage to an airline to intentionally lie to passengers about their flight. Maybe the person behind the kiosk at the gate may distort the time to prevent passengers from becoming upset, I don’t know, but if they are doing this, they aren’t doing the airline any favors.

Bottom line here is that passengers should only believe what they read on the FIDS.


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## Alligatorob (Oct 17, 2021)

oldman said:


> According to one pilot, many of the SWA pilots have decided to holdout and try to get the mandate revised or removed. I think he said they have until December 8th to be vaccinated


Is this true?  That the SWA flight cancelations were indeed due to a vaccine related work slow down/protest?  It would be interesting to know.

I just got home from New Orleans and whist there a lot of places, particularly in the French Quarter, required vaccination cards for entry.  However I know they accepted recent negative test results instead.  Not sure about evidence of natural immunity.


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## chic (Oct 17, 2021)

Alligatorob said:


> Is this true?  That the SWA flight cancelations were indeed due to a vaccine related work slow down/protest?  It would be interesting to know.
> 
> I just got home from New Orleans and whist there a lot of places, particularly in the French Quarter, required vaccination cards for entry.  However I know they accepted recent negative test results instead.  Not sure about evidence of natural immunity.



Yes. I mentioned this before but nobody wants to believe it's pushback against the mandates.


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