Alaska Airlines warns about winter weather impacts

Winter weather, displaced crew members and aircraft, and the continued impact of the omicron variant on staffing levels are converging to cause more canceled and delayed flights for Alaska Airlines this week.

Today, 170 flights were canceled across Alaska's network, with more cancellations and delays expected throughout the week. As we head into Wednesday and Thursday, we're proactively thinning Seattle departures by about 20% to allow for the additional time it takes to deice aircraft, a requirement during winter weather.  

The weather in Seattle is impacting guests beyond the Pacific Northwest. We strongly urge flyers with non-essential travel scheduled before January 2, 2022, to consider changing their travel to a later date using our flexible travel policy. With more snow expected and limited seats available during an already busy holiday week, we're not able to re-accommodate most guests for at least three days. 

"We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this winter storm has on our guests and employees and are working hard to return to the level of service you know and expect from us, while operating safely," said Constance von Muehlen, Alaska Airlines chief operating officer and executive vice president.