56 Empty Flights from
Southwest This Past Monday Alone
The travel sector is experiencing unprecedented ramifications. Flying empty flights to hold landing
slots and move planes to key places was inevitable. I doubt anyone could have imagined 56 empty planes in one day.
Slashing capacity seems insufficient; numerous carriers are flying more empty flights than expected. Why are they still around? Chief Operating
Officer Mike Van de Ven gave three reasons. First, air travel is considered "essential" by the government, which may come with perks. Second,
government aid implies service continuity. If they stopped flying, even empty planes, they would lose government funding that will presumably
be forthcoming. The last point he stated was the immense logistical and financial obstacles of restarting an airline once it stops all operations,
As travel demand drops and more localities implement shelter-in-place
orders, the travel industry will take more extreme methods to survive until travel can resume.
Southwest’s CEO Says Air Travel Should Take Off Soon
Learn more