Southwest Flights In Denver: Travelers Face More Cancellations

DENVER, CO (AP) — Southwest Airlines canceled several hundred more flights Monday, including some departing from and arriving at Denver International Airport, after a weekend of disruptions the airline blamed on bad weather and air traffic control issues.

More than 40 Southwest flights were canceled in Denver Monday and around 220 were delayed, according to FlightAware. Some domestic travelers spent several days waiting at DEN to fly home.

The airline and its pilots union denied reports of a sickout to protest mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, The Associated Press reported.

More than 360 Southwest flights — 10 percent of the schedule for the day — were canceled Monday, and more than 800 others were delayed, according to the FlightAware tracking service.

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The widespread disruptions began shortly after the pilots union asked a federal court on Friday to block the airline's order that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. The union said it doesn't oppose vaccination but it argued in its filing that Southwest must negotiate before taking such a step.

The union denied reports that pilots were conducting a sickout or slowdown to protest the vaccine mandate, saying it "has not authorized, and will not condone, any job action."

The pilots association offered another explanation: It said Southwest's operation "has become brittle and subject to massive failures under the slightest pressure" because of a lack of support from the company. The union complained about the "already strained relationship" between it and the company.

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