Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. (photo via Joshua Olson/iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)
This isn’t funny anymore.
Actually, it was never funny. But we all kind of chuckled and looked the other way.
No more. This is truly a life-and-death matter.
It’s time for the Federal Aviation Administration or another government agency to ground Southwest Airlines.
If you haven’t heard, the airline had another ground stoppage this week, although it said it lasted only 16 minutes. But a pilot for Southwest, who also happens to be vice president of the Pilots Association, said it was more like 90 minutes. Does it even matter how long it lasted? The bottom line is, it happened. Again.
Remember that Southwest had a very bad meltdown over Christmas that caused thousands of flights and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of passengers to miss their holiday planes. It’s one thing for the airline to triumph in the fact that this was not nearly as bad as the last time, but it’s still bad. It just makes you wonder that if they can’t handle a schedule, what about the planes? Are they next?
Flight cancellations at airport. (photo via structuresxx / iStock / Getty Images Plus)
People from casual observers to those that are inside the airline industry have said for years that Southwest is behind the times when it comes to technology. Maybe it’s time to take a pause, call a timeout, and really investigate the problems and make corrections if needed.
Do I have selfish, personal reasons? Of course. My son wants to see his college roommate, and most of them live on Long Island. Southwest flies into Islip. I’ll be honest and say that right now, I don’t want him anywhere near a Southwest flight.
This has been a recurring issue for the airline, and it shouldn’t be.
Pulling the plug, even temporarily, on the fourth-largest airline in the United States is not what I would like to see. But I can’t think of a better answer right now. Because clearly the problem isn’t being addressed. Maybe a ground halt forces Southwest's hand. I don’t know. It’s kind of a tough love situation. If it is as simple as outdated technology, so be it. Thank God. Let’s get to the root of the problem, fix it, and move on.
In a statement, Southwest called it a "data connection issue." How many other issues are there?
It’s not like me to call for the grounding of an entire airline. But I say this for the sake of my son and yours.
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