TWA Flights Back to Normal After Cancellations
Operations returned to normal Monday at Trans World Airlines after a holiday weekend of sick calls by flight attendants caused widespread flight cancellations, according to the airline, costing it millions of dollars.
The work stoppage resulted in about 200 flight cancellations between Thursday and Sunday, leaving thousands of travelers stranded over the holidays at TWA’s Lambert Airport hub in St. Louis. The largest number of cancellations--90--occurred on Christmas Day.
The airline claimed that flight attendants staged a sickout during contract negotiations. The union denied that it had orchestrated a job action.
“We’re back to normal today, just the standard operation with a couple of cancellations,” TWA spokesman Jim Brown said.
He said the airline spent millions of dollars making arrangements for travelers who were stranded by the weekend cancellations, but he did not provide a precise figure. The company may sue to force the union to pick up the tab, he said.
Stranded passengers will receive frequent-flier miles and travel vouchers as well as a letter of apology from the airline, Brown said.
Leaders of the International Assn. of Machinists, which represents TWA flight attendants, acknowledge frustration with the company but deny arranging a sickout. The stoppage occurred as contract talks between the union and the company remain at a standstill. The two sides have been meeting for a year and a half and plan to get together again Jan. 18.
Sherry Cooper, chairwoman of IAM District 142 in St. Louis, said the number of absences was similar to that of the same period a year ago. She said there were 480 absences this holiday weekend, compared with 404 for Christmas weekend in 1997. “There is no sickout,” she said.
But as evidence of an organized sickout, Brown pointed to a back-to-work order issued Friday by a federal judge.
Flight attendants are seeking a 38.55% raise through 1999, while the company is offering 21.6% through 2003, Cooper has said. The company has said the attendants are seeking a raise of 108%.
