Southwest Airlines declares ‘operational emergency’ as weather, labor woes mount

Author: CBS LOCAL
Published: Updated:
Flight board at Southwest Florida International Airport. (WINK News photo)
Flight board at Southwest Florida International Airport. (WINK News photo)

Winter storms and mechanical issues were to blame for more than 400 Southwest Airlines flight cancellations and about 1,000 more in delays.

The nation’s largest domestic carrier has seen an unusually high number of planes grounded for a week, likely exacerbated by a labor dispute between the airline and the mechanics’ union.

Today, more flights across the U.S. were cancelled. Southwest Flights responded to a compliant from one individual on Twitter who was having flight issues:

While snow in southern Nevada may be to blame for the delays and cancellations to and from Las Vegas, mechanical issues have also caused hundreds of planes to be taken out of service since last week.

CBS News exclusively obtained photos showing what mechanics describe as landing gear so worn out, a plane was grounded on Wednesday.

The airline has declared an “operational emergency” and ordered all maintenance to show up for work to get planes in service.

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