Southwest Airlines pilots blast management over maintenance issues

The simmering battle between Southwest Airlines and its mechanics saw a new group join the fight, as the airline’s pilots’ union blasted management for “tribalising and scapegoating” technicians to cover for an “ineffective” operation. “The last few weeks have highlighted how poorly upper management at Southwest Airlines is performing, how it truly views labour, how ineffective its communication and execution of our daily operation are, and how everyone at our airline should be concerned,” Southwest Airlines Pilots Association president Jon Weaks said Monday. At issue are “state of operational emergency” declarations that Southwest made at 5 maintenance stations after its out-of-service aircraft count jumped in early February. <br/>