An internal Southwest Airlines memo detailed substantial worker shortages just one day before the company began canceling thousands of flights over the holiday season.
In the Dec. 21 correspondence, executives highlighted staffing issues at Southwest's Denver, Colorado, base, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The site serves as a key operational center for the airline.
Chris Johnson, vice president for ground operations, specifically appeared to institute a "state of operational emergency" due to an "unusually high number" of ramp worker absences.
"We have an obligation to our Customers and to our fellow Employees to safely and efficiently run our operation," Johnson wrote of the absent ramp workers, who assist plane staff in parking at gates, handling luggage, and keeping schedules running on time.
Johnson then instructed employees claiming to suffer from illnesses to provide a doctor's note on the first day back to work or risk being fired. Personal days off would also be rejected during the period, and overtime might be required.
It comes amid a slew of criticism against Southwest for cancellations in the last week, reaching a staggering 15,700 since Dec. 22 on Wednesday. And the scrubs still continue as more than 60% of the company's flights were grounded on Wednesday.
But despite other airlines appearing to recover from winter storm conditions in recent days, Southwest has consistently denied any mismanagement over the holiday season — even in crew staffing.
The company blamed the disproportionate collapse on the storm hitting its central Denver and Chicago, Illinois, locations. On Thursday, CEO Bob Jordan reiterated the same position in an official apology.
"We build our flight schedule around communities, not hubs, so we are the largest airline in 23 of the top 25 travel markets in the U.S., cities where large numbers of scheduled flights simultaneously froze as record bitter cold brought challenges for all airlines," Jordan explained.
Jordan added that he hopes things will "be back on track before next week" amid further cancellations in the coming days, including most of Thursday's flights.
Randy Barnes, the president of Southwest's ground worker union, attributed the disaster instead to executives who allegedly forced employees to work extended hours in extreme conditions over the holiday season.
"In severe weather, it's unreasonable for workers to stay outside for extended periods," Barnes said, according to the Post. "People need to be able to cycle in and out of the cold. The airline needs to do more to protect its ground crews."
Both the Department of Transportation and members of Congress have pledged to investigate the airline, which reportedly received billions of dollars in taxpayer money during the COVID-19 pandemic, a CNN analysis noted.
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