🔴FWD
I work in the airline industry. Two things are happening (and yes I verified them through multiple sources):

First, for two days straight JAX center ATC have been walking off. The first day was just a handful but still caused significant delays in the Southeast. The second day was more.

This has happened before when a few people tested positive for Covid-19 at JAX. They are now ALL being required to test weekly (with faulty PCR tests that can’t differentiate between cold/flu and COVID). I doubt that anyone there will admit they sicked out as a coordinated effort, but if you don’t feel well, for any reason, you need to stay home as a controller.

This ATC outage affects every airline. Rumors are that Milwaukee ATC Center will be next.

🔵con in com

Stand up now and join the movement at usfreedomflyers.org.

Secondly, SWA pilots (and all employees) were told they have until the day before Thanksgiving to be jabbed or lose their jobs. Many of them have saved up paid personal time and vacation that they will lose once they’re fired. So perhaps they are using it now. After all, like controllers, pilots have even stricter regulations on when they can fly and if they can’t say they feel both mentally and physically “fit to fly”, they won’t.

This mandate also goes for AA, Spirit, Jet Blue, Alaska. United has already fired all their unjabbed employees. A group of UAL employees who had their medical and religious exemptions DENIED went to court and got a two-week temporary restraining order for the mandate from a judge in Ft. Worth, TX. But then, they’ll likely be fired too.

🔵con in com

The only major legacy hold out is Delta. They are still taking an individualized approach to vaccinating, but with their DOD contracts, they’ll probably cave (might be a good time to tweet or FB post Delta and express your support for allowing employees to make their own choice).

Because airline employees fall under the Railway Labor Act, there are restrictions around “work actions” (coordinated sick outs, etc.) so this isn’t anything they are “officially” doing as a coordinated effort. But there are no restrictions on when they use their personal time.

This won’t stop with the pilots. Flight attendants also object, mechanics, gate agents, baggage handlers, caterers, cabin cleaners, wing walkers, dispatchers, fuelers…

🔵con in com