The Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association, which represents 10,000 pilots of the Dallas-based carrier, said 98% of its members participated in the vote and 99% voted in favour of authorising a strike.

Southwest said the vote result will not impact its operations: “We are staffed and prepared to welcome travellers for their summer travel plans.”

Southwest has been under regulatory scrutiny since a staffing crisis due to bad weather during the Christmas holidays overwhelmed its crew scheduling software, disrupting travel plans for 2 million customers.

“Pilots [have] already made their voices heard about the operational disasters and the lack of progress after three-plus years of stagnant negotiations,” the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association said.

Earlier this month, pilots of American Airlines Group also approved a strike mandate.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi.)