Southwest Airlines under pressure, for now a TCI return of service seems safe

#TurksandCaicos, August 27, 2021 – Southwest Airlines has faced a mountain of problems and the company said it is not yet out of the woods. In fact to deal with unhappy staff in tense work environments, there will be a cutback in flights this Fall said the COO Mike Van De Ven to USA Today on Friday.

It appears however, that Turks and Caicos will be unaffected, at least so far.

Early October bookings still hold for Southwest Airlines to Providenciales, however, that could change after Southwest Chief Operating Officer Mike Van de Ven “told employees in a memo Friday that the airline continues to face operational challenges and is looking into reducing fall flights. The latter would mean more flight changes or cancellations for travelers who already purchased tickets.”

The airline has  hiring challenges, delays in connecting travelers and their bags, food and hotels for flight crews and the recently extended federal mask mandate, which means tensions are still high among passengers reported USA Today.

About its return to the PLS in the Turks and Caicos, Southwest Airlines at last report said it plans daily flights from Ft Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport from October 7.

Southwest Airlines has been a conspicuously absent feature since March 2020 when the TCI shut its borders to visitor flights and cruise ships over fears about Covid-19.