- Southwest's pilot union says rising fatigue callouts are a threat to flight safety.
- In a letter to the airline, the union said fatigue reports have increased as passenger volumes skyrocket.
- Pilots say overtime work with little time to recover after operational disruptions is a hazard.
Southwest's pilot union says a sharp rise in crew fatigue due to poor scheduling and increased passenger numbers poses a threat to flight safety and is raising the concern to top management.
In a letter to Southwest executives on Tuesday, including newly appointed CEO Robert Jordan, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association said fatigue among its members has been increasing since last summer when passenger volume ramped up to near pre-pandemic levels, ABC News reported.
"April is already setting fatigue records," the letter read, according to multiple news outlets. "Fatigue, both acute and cumulative, has become Southwest Airlines' number-one safety threat."
The union said pilots calling out of work fatigued in March increased by 330% compared to the same month in years prior, according to the Wall Street Journal. A Southwest spokesperson told Insider that as few as 10 pilots per 10,000 duty periods called out fatigued in March 2019, compared to 35 in March 2022.
The representative continued to say "increase is expected" due to bad weather and airspace delays the industry faced in March. Moreover, they said the airline had seen a "significant and steady decline" since November 2021, when it adjusted its schedule to reduce flying.
Overall, fatigue reports are trending in the correct direction, Southwest said, and that the calls prove the system is "working as designed, allowing Crew to determine if they are too fatigued to fly."
Southwest's pilot union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time Southwest pilots have raised scheduling concerns. In August, the union considered picketing during Thanksgiving and Christmas to bring attention to increased workloads and fatigue. Pilots told CNBC that they regularly have to pick up extra shifts with little notice, calling it "reassignment chaos" and "schedule insanity."
The issue has been exacerbated by a shortage of pilots that has plagued the industry for years, forcing some carriers to ground jets, as well as a months-long contract negotiation, according to the Journal.
Southwest has been aggressively searching for new hires by offering attractive retention and sign-on bonuses, the Dallas Morning News reported. Still, it was forced to cut its April and May schedules to handle staffing shortages.
Pilots have also complained of working overtime and not being given adequate time to recover from disruptions related to weather or other factors. According to the union, there were over 100 cases in 2021 where a pilot did not get the minimum rest required by federal regulations.
Southwest told Insider that the airline's scheduling system does not allow a pilot to be given less than the required 10 hours of rest, and if pilots cannot obtain eight hours of sleep in that time period, the company "will review those circumstances and respond."
"We keep operating a safe airline at the forefront of everything we do and will continue to partner with SWAPA as we monitor our own internal controls, systems, and procedures to maintain our commitment to Safety," the representative said.
Pilots at other carriers have also raised concerns about pilot fatigue.
Earlier in April, more than 50 Delta pilots picketed outside Salt Lake City International Airport holding signs that read, "If I look tired, it's because I am," and "Fatiguing schedules = poor reliability," local media reported.