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When Southwest canceled more than 2,000 flights over the weekend, citing bad weather and air traffic control issues, unsupported claims blaming vaccine mandates began taking off. Conservative politicians and pundits, including Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, alleged the flight disruptions resulted from pilots and air traffic controllers walking off their jobs or calling in sick to protest federal vaccination requirements. The airline, its pilots’ union and the FAA denied that. “The weekend challenges were not a result of Southwest employee demonstrations,” Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Monday.<br/>

Bankrupt Philippine Airlines will end service to New York and Toronto as part of a rejigging of its route map under a restructuring plan it filed with a US bankruptcy court on Thursday. Citing “structural issues impacting profitability,” the Manila-based carrier will end its ultra long-haul service to New York and Toronto and focus instead on flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver on the West Coast of North America. PAL outlined plans to expand its codeshare with American Airlines at its remaining US gateways to maintain connectivity. PAL will also end service to Manila’s Clark Airport, which is popular with low-cost carriers, and focus on strengthening its hub at Manila International Airport. In addition, it will also cut unprofitable routes in Asia. “The [restructuring] plan will bring PAL into sustained profitability,” the airline said in the filing. If approved by the court, PAL forecasts a $220m operating profit next year and a $364m in 2023. PAL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 4. This surprised few as the carrier had struggled for years, and the bled through cash during the Covid-19 crisis. <br/>