With Travel Recovery in Sight, Southwest Re-Hiring Flight Attendants

With coronavirus cases continuing to drop in the U.S. save for a few hotspots, airlines are anticipating a boffo summer – and are restoring staffing levels appropriately.

Southwest Airlines is the latest carrier to do exactly that.

According to a memo sent to cabin crews and seen by CNBC, Southwest is addressing the issue by bringing back flight attendants to keep up with the expected demand.

A Southwest spokesman said it was too early to determine how many flight attendants it will need when asked by CNBC. But according to the memo, the airline will start by re-hiring crew that were asked to take temporary leave last year when airline capacity plummeted to just five percent at one point.

“In order to support future operational needs, all Flight Attendants have been recalled to work effective June 1, and we will need to hire Flight Attendants in the immediate future,” the staff note read. “We are happy to share that the majority of these candidates are still interested in joining our Inflight Family, and this helps us start to rebuild a pool of candidates.”

Rivals including American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have recently announced they plan to resume hiring pilots this year, in hopes they will be able to cater to a rise in travel demand in the coming years.