SEATTLE — Tens of thousands of Alaska Airlines passengers have been impacted since Friday as the airline continues to deal with staffing shortages.
On Monday, 30 flights were canceled at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
At least ten more flights scheduled for Tuesday have also been canceled.
In total, the airline has canceled at least 361 flights, impacting more than 43,100 customers, in just the past four days.
The cancellations started the same day as members of the Alaska Airlines Pilots Union held an informational picket for a new contract following two years of failed negotiations.
“We’re simply seeking work rules and scheduling flexibility,” said Will McQuillen, the Alaska Airlines MEC chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association. “What you’re seeing is something that we warned the company about starting late last fall, and ongoing warnings issued throughout the spring, about the fact that attrition was becoming a material concern, that they would not have enough pilots to operate the schedule as the seasonal flying spooled up come spring and summer.”
The union insists that all the pilots taking to the picket line were already off the clock and ultimately their contracts were to blame for the flight frustrations.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines says they’re “committed to reaching a collective bargaining agreement that recognizes the contributions of [their] pilots and supports them with increased pay, job security and greater work flexibility.”
But even if a new contract is finalized, the union says it could be months before more hiring takes place and staffing is up to par.
Alaska Airlines say they filed for mediation in October 2021 and their next session is scheduled for later this month.
In a previous version of this story, we incorrectly reported that Alaska Airline pilots were “striking” because of an ongoing contract dispute. That report was incorrect and we regret that mistake.
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