Southwest's Flight Cancelations Speculated to be Pilot Vaccine Strike

Southwest Airlines blames weather and tower issues for nearly 2,000 of their flights getting nixed this weekend -- but many think the real reason is ... a pilot strike over vaccines.

Here's the deal ... upwards of 1,800 SA flights (and counting) were straight-up canceled between Saturday and Sunday all over the country -- leaving even more would-be passengers stranded or without air travel for the holiday weekend.

Southwest has said poor weather conditions in FL and subsequent air traffic control roadblocks there were responsible for the mass cancelations -- but the FAA pushed back, admitting Friday was a bit of a mess in Jacksonville ... but noting Saturday/Sunday seemed fine. Other airlines also reported significantly less cancelations over the same time period.

So ... what gives??? It appears somebody's not being forthright on why so many Southwest flights continue to stay grounded -- but there's a theory that might have some credence.

On Friday, Southwest's pilot union filed legal docs seeking to halt a vaccine mandate that went into effect last week -- following Biden's order for federal workers and/or contractors, which applies to the airline. That was left unresolved heading into the weekend, it seems.

While Southwest hasn't spoken on a possible strike ... the union itself shot down the notion they were to blame, saying ... "[W]e can say with confidence that our Pilots are not participating in any official or unofficial job actions." Then ... some major shade.

They add... "Our Pilots will continue to overcome SWA management’s poor planning, as well as any external operational challenges, and remain the most productive Pilots in the world."

On the record, they're denying any sort of protest -- but there are reports, citing airline sources, that a massive "sickout" went down, and that ripple effects are still being felt.