AirTran Airways Forced to Rehire Pilot

According to recent reports, AirTran Airways, which is actually a unit of Southwest Airlines, was ordered by the United States government to rehire a pilot whom the company fired back in 2007. Not only that, but the airline has been ordered to repay the pilot over $1 million in back wages.

Apparently, the airline violated protection laws when it dismissed the pilot after a sudden increase in his reports detailing mechanical failures. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that a pilot cannot be let go for reporting mechanical failure to his company.

Due to this, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is forcing the airline to pay the pilot all of his back wages, plus interest. On top of this, the company will be forced to pay compensatory damages. In total, the airline will be forced to pay over $1 million to the pilot.

In the report, this agency went on to say that they believe the termination of the pilot was an act of retaliation by the airline. Due to that, the airline is in clear violation of regulatory laws. This is something that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not stand for.

David Michaels, who is the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said that the airline workers must be free to raise safety and security concerns without fear of being fired. Companies that diminish these rights through intimidation and retaliation must be held accountable for their actions just like AirTran Airways.

The pilot, who has not been named, complained about AirTran Airways after they removed him from flight status in August of 2007. This removal from flight status came following a sudden spike in the pilot’s mechanical malfunctioning reports.

The agency said that the airline actually held a 17-minute investigation hearing. Seven days later, the company fired the pilot. They said that he did not satisfactorily answer questions about a jump in his reports.

This safety agency, which is actually part of the Labor Department, found that the pilot did not refuse to answer the questions during the hearing. In fact, the answers that he gave to the questions were appropriate. However, they were not what the airline wanted to hear. In order to hush him, the airline removed him from service.

So far, AirTran Airways has been silent about this matter. In fact, media sources say that the airline has not responded to requests for comments following this new United States order. It is unlikely that the airline will comment on an investigation like this until it is over. The airline will probably not release any statements until it makes its official statement publicly. This means, no one media source will get an exclusive comment from the airline before that time.