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American Airlines flight attendants are asking federal officials for the right to go on strike, possibly before the end of the Christmas and New Year’s travel rush, but American said there was “no possibility” of a walkout over the holidays. Leaders of the flight attendants’ union say they are frustrated with the lack of progress in negotiations over a new contract for workers who have not seen raises since 2019. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants petitioned the National Mediation Board on Monday to declare the negotiations deadlocked and give the union permission to strike after a 30-day “cooling-off period.” Meanwhile, pilots at Southwest opened a “strike center” in Dallas this week. Officials with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association say they too will ask for the right to strike if they don’t have a contract deal with the airline in the next few days. A digital clock on the wall at the pilots’ union headquarters ticked down toward a potential strike on Dec. 29. It is far from certain that either union will go on strike, however. Federal law makes it very hard for airline workers to walk off the job or for carriers to lock out workers. Strikes and lockouts are legal only if federal mediators take the rare step of declaring that negotiations are at an impasse and that either side may resort to “self help.” Even then, the president or Congress can block a strike that might hurt the economy.<br/>

American Airlines is facing questions after footage from Miami Airport showed baggage handlers throwing a wheelchair down a ramp. The chair hits the bottom with such force that it is catapulted off the chute. The video was posted onto Tiktok by the user haez93, who claimed that it wasn’t the first chair to suffer this fate. In the caption, she wrote: “Dang, after I saw them do this and laugh with the first two wheelchairs I had to get it on film.” She added that it wasn’t what she would call “handling with care” for a mobility device.<br/>Viewers were upset at the footage, with one labelling it “sick”. Another added that “these chairs cost upwards of $3k plus. They aren’t easily replaceable and insurance only covers new chairs every 5 years”. ”It’s 2023 and we don’t have a better way to handle wheelchairs?!?” was another comment. American Airlines spokesperson Amy Lawrence told USA Today in a statement: “We recognise how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities by ensuring the proper care of mobility devices throughout their journey with us. This visual is deeply concerning and we are gathering more details so that we can address them with our team. We will continue to work hard to improve our handling of assistive devices across our network.”<br/>