On Tuesday, American Airlines reminded Governor Abbott who is in charge of flights saying they would comply with President Biden’s executuve order requiring flight crew personnel to be vaccinated for COVID19 by a December 8 deadline.
They were joined by Southwest Airlines.
The two Texas-based carriers said the federal order supersedes a reverse mandate by Republican Governor Greg Abbott barring vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.
American said while it was reviewing Abbott’s executive order, “this does not change anything” for the company.
Southwest says it “would be expected to comply with the President’s Order to remain compliant as a federal contractor.”
Both carriers have asked U.S.-based employees to submit proof of vaccination by November 24 to be compliant by the December deadline.
Biden issued his executive order during the height of the pandemic last month as his administration struggled to control disease spread.
The executive order covers all federal contractors.
While supporters of vaccine mandates see them as necessary to pull the country out of the nearly two-year-old pandemic, critics including Texas Senator Ted Cruz are calling them unconstitutional and authoritarian.
In his executive order, Abbott said the Biden administration was “bullying” many private entities into imposing vaccine mandates, causing workforce disruptions.
Southwest cancelled over two thousand flights over the weekend in what some are describing as “freedom flu.” It is not clear if employees are participating in blue days, but a pilot union representative blamed the cancellations on a brittle scheduling system stuck in the past.
The Southwest pilots union is seeking to stop Southwest vaccine mandates saying they should not be imposed under collective bargaining rules.
American Airlines Reminded Governor Abbott, But Does He Listen?
Earlier this summer, Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID19 hours after attending an in person fundraising event in McKinney maskless.
He was treated with expensive monoclonal antibodies and has since recovered, but it isn’t clear he learned the lesson of preventative healthcare that vaccinations and masks offer.