Federal Judge Dismisses Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Effort to Block Vaccine Mandate

Southwest Airlines planes are seen in a file photograph. Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo

A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday threw out a request brought by a union that represents Southwest Airlines pilots to block the company from carrying out its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), which has some 9,000 members, filed a lawsuit earlier this month to prevent the carrier from mandating that its workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8 under federal rules, barring religious or medical exemptions.