Southwest Airlines officials have revealed that the Dallas-based airline is launching an investigation after one of its pilots allegedly used anti-Biden slang over a plane’s public address system during a flight.
The news of the pilot’s action was first reported by The Associated Press, which had a reporter on board the flight.
According to The Associated Press, the pilot used the phrase on a Friday, October 29, flight from Houston to Albuquerque. The AP reported that the pilot ended his regular greeting to passengers with the words “Let’s go, Brandon,” a term which has now become a code for “f**k Joe Biden.”
Southwest released a statement on Sunday addressing the pilot’s actions. The press release stated that the airline giant said it does not condone its employees sharing their personal political opinion while on the job.
“Southwest is conducting an internal investigation into the recently reported event and will address the situation directly with any employee involved while continuing to remind all employees that public expression of personal opinions while on duty is unacceptable,” the airline said in the statement.
According to CBS 11 News, multiple reports say the phrase “Let’s go Brandon,” was coined when a NASCAR crowd chanted “F**k Joe Biden,” in the background while driver Brandon Brown was being interviewed after a victory. The reporter conducting the interview appears to have misheard the crowd and speculated that the group was chanting, “Let’s go Brandon.”
In a memo obtained by CNN, the union representing United Airlines pilots said that an in-flight radio frequency used for emergency transmissions is not to be used as a personal pulpit.