Southwest Airlines will reopen recruitment for new flight attendants on Tuesday but hopefuls will have to be really quick as the window in which to apply is likely to be slammed shut within hours of opening due to the number of applications the airline expects to receive.
The Dallas-based airline confirmed that it would start accepting applications for new flight attendants on the morning of September 26 but that based on previous application volumes, the carrier expects to close the window the same day.
To give an idea of how often Southwest accepts external applications to become a flight attendant, the airline last opened the flight attendant application process in September 2021, and at that time Southwest was desperate to rebuild its workforce following the pandemic.
Southwest then briefly reopened the recruitment process in early 2022 as it sought to plug a staffing shortfall, but since then, there’s been no news, until now, of when flight attendants might get the chance to apply to work for Southwest.
Through 2022, Southwest hired and trained thousands of new flight attendants, smashing previous recruitment records. In fact, the airline said it had hired and trained 3 times more flight attendants in 2022 than in 2018, which had been a record year for Southwest.
Southwest says it recommends that candidates prepare their resume in basic formatting and in a PDF or Microsoft Word-compatible file ahead of September 26. Applications must be submitted on the official Southwest Airlines careers website.
