It isn’t an easy time to be an airline, and Southwest is living proof of that. In spite of our having a good time flying Southwest in Hawaii earlier this week, their pilots, unable to reach a labor agreement with the company, are planning another picket. The previous event took place in June. Not only that but there are accusations from whistleblowers and the FAA alike about some very concerning issues at Southwest. And now, their certification for flights to Hawaii has also been called into question.
Then last month, Federal officials raised the issue that Southwest Airlines and its pilots’ union had “resisted cooperating with investigations into accidents and other incidents and pushed to close the matters quickly.” That included a 2019 pilot-caused error that resulted in significant damage during a landing at Hartford. Insinuations from the FAA were that delay and other resistance tactics were employed by Southwest and the pilots’ union.
In another incident, when a SWA plane overran a runway in Burbank, NTSB found the co-pilot’s conduct was “highly unprofessional.”
Eight issues have been raised by four whistleblowers, some of which the FAA concurred with. The FAA said it took reparative measures such as training and audits to ensure that safety guidelines were followed. In another accusation, Southwest allegedly bought planes overseas and did not verify inspection and maintenance records. The report said that “In more than half of those cases, the airline found that...
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