Southwest Airlines asked a federal court to reject a lawsuit filed by a Southwest pilots union to temporarily block the company from carrying out its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing the order would put its business, customers, and employees at risk. Earlier this month, the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) filed a lawsuit to prevent the carrier from mandating that all its workers get vaccinated. The union asserts that Southwest, which last week experienced thousands of flight cancelations and delays, illegally changed work rules instead of negotiating with them. “The injunction that SWAPA seeks is extraordinary,” Southwest’s lawyers said in its court filing, responding to the union’s suit, reported Bloomberg. It further argued that a ruling against Southwest would potentially cause the cancellation of Southwest’s contracts with the federal government, creating “substantial harm” to its businesses and its employees, including the pilots. In early October, Southwest said that its 56,000 workers, including pilots, …