Southwest CEO says "meltdown"cost $75 million and that only half of staff have reported vaccine status

Only half of Southwest Airlines' 56,000 employees have reported their vaccination status or applied for accommodation, said CEO Gary Kelly, with little more than a month to go before the Biden administration's deadline for airline staff to do so. 

The airline risks losing its federal contracts should staffers not be fully vaccinated by the December 8 deadline. The U.S. government is the airline's biggest client, Kelly said.

In an interview Thursday with CBS News, Kelly said of those who have submitted their status, "a supermajority are vaccinated" and those who are not are being offered a financial incentive to get vaccinated.