MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Alaska Airlines to scale back flights amid slew of cancellations as pilot shortage persists

Apr 8, 2022, 6:45 AM

Alaska Airlines cancellations...

Travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

After a week of cancelled flights brought on by a shortage in pilots, Alaska Airlines will now be cutting 2% of its total flights through June.

Flight cancelations continue at Sea-Tac Airport

The move was made to account for the company’s “current pilot capacity,” as a means to avoid to day-of cancellations akin to what we’ve seen in recent days.

On Thursday, Alaska reported 42 cancelled flights, the bulk of which were scheduled to move through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Another 27 Sea-Tac flights for the airline have been cancelled as of early Friday morning. Mass flight cancellations started late last week, as Alaska Airlines pilots picketed across Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Anchorage over a labor contract that hasn’t been renegotiated in nearly a decade.

Talks between the airline and the union representing pilots have been ongoing since 2019, but were paused for a year “as the industry weathered the pandemic,” the company notes. Alaska says that it filed for mediation in October of 2021, with a session scheduled for late April.

Alaska Airlines cancels at least 71 Sea-Tac flights as pilots picket

The airline also notes that “a new pilot contract remains a top priority,” but between an increase in travel demand and recent resignations from scores of pilots, the union says that this recent run of flight cancellations was inevitable. As the airline further pointed out this week, the schedule for available pilots in April was set in January, with the company facing enough resignations in that period to cause the issues it’s seeing now.

Alaska Airlines says that its newly-enacted flight reductions won’t be reflected in its posted schedule until mid-April. That means more cancellations at least for the next few days, with the company vowing to “do everything we can to minimize disruptions to travelers’ plans.”

MyNorthwest News

Image: Brightly colored eggs are set on a table on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington,...

Ted Buehner

Expect good Easter weekend weather for egg hunts, chilly evening Mariners games

Both Saturday and Sunday of Easter weekend will feature temperatures warming to around 60 degrees across much of Western Washington.

10 hours ago

Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 20...

Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio and Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest

Seattle tourism dollars break records following All-Star Week, Taylor Swift

It was a record-setting year for dollars flowing into Seattle from tourists.

11 hours ago

Image: A bridge in Carnation....

Julia Dallas

Carnation frustrated with Seattle again after 8th false emergency alarm induces widespread panic

Carnation citizens have faced a series of panic-inducing alarms after SPU's system for the Tolt Dam falsely sounded eight times.

13 hours ago

Grocery store shopper...

Bill Kaczaraba

Ways to deal with Seattle grocery store sticker shock

Seattle grocery store sticker shock continues to play havoc on locals, but there are ways to counter high prices.

13 hours ago

belltown hellcat social media...

Frank Sumrall

Infamous ‘Belltown Hellcat’ social media influencer charged with reckless driving

The social media influencer has been accused of driving 107 miles per hour through Belltown in a Dodge Hellcat.

14 hours ago

KIRO Newsradio gracie awards...

MyNorthwest Staff

KIRO Newsradio anchors receive Gracie Awards for outstanding work

Heather Bosch and Lisa Brooks, anchors at KIRO Newsradio, have been honored by the Alliance for Women in Media with prestigious Gracie Awards.

17 hours ago

Alaska Airlines to scale back flights amid slew of cancellations as pilot shortage persists