Airlines in the United States, and indeed across the globe, have had to cancel thousands of flights as the Boeing 737 Max grounding left them with no other option. Additional issues were discovered with the aircraft and until they’re fixed and an all-clear is given, the beleaguered jet can’t take to the skies again. This has forced Southwest Airlines to leave Newark Airport.
Southwest happens to be the fifth largest airline to operate out of Newark airport. It has previously made the decision to cancel all Boeing 737 Max flights throughout the rest of this year. Since it’s not flying as many flights that it did before, and because revenues are falling due to the jet’s grounding, Southwest Airlines has decided to move its operations out of New York’s Newark Airport.
The New York Times reports that Southwest will now be consolidating its flights that will no longer depart from Newark into New York’s La Guardia Airport. It has already canceled all 737 Max flights until January 5th next year.
The airline has said that customers who were due to fly out of Newark will now be offered flights flying out of alternative airports. Around 125 employees that worked for the company at Newark will be offered jobs elsewhere. Southwest also says that it’s in preliminary discussions with Boeing about being compensated for the loss that it’s suffering because of the 737 Max.
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