Southwest Airlines president offers explanation to flight cancellations

On Thursday, Southwest Airlines president Mike Van de Ven offered an mentation and an apology pursuing a play wherever the hose canceled thousands of flights, leaving passengers stranded crossed the nation.

"The operational disruption began connected Friday and was initially created by upwind and aerial postulation constraints that stalled our Florida operations for galore hours," Van de Ven said successful a statement. "As a result, our craft and Crews were not successful their pre-planned positions to run our docket connected Saturday. Unfortunately, the out-of-place craft and Crew resources created further cancelations crossed our point-to-point web that cascaded passim the play and into Monday and Tuesday. Weather and aerial postulation constraints were not an contented beyond Friday, but it took america respective days to re-set our web aft the archetypal challenges.

The Federal Aviation Administration countered the claims brought distant by Southwest, saying successful a tweet that they person had nary reports of postulation shortages since Friday.

The Associated Press reported that the delays occurred soon aft Southwest's pilot's national asked a national tribunal to artifact the airline’s bid that each employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association refuted claims that they were protesting, saying successful a connection that they "can accidental with assurance that our Pilots are not participating successful immoderate authoritative oregon unofficial occupation actions."

Van de Ven explained that the cancelations were not owed to the "unusual Southwest Employee activity."

"And determination simply is thing successful our information that indicates that peculiar reason," Van de Ven said. "Our Employees worked heroically successful the midst of these adverse conditions, and galore came successful connected disconnected days, oregon flew further trips, to assistance the hose recover. I connection my sincere acknowledgment and appreciation for their tireless enactment and dedication to serving our customers."