Alaska Airlines canceling up to 150 flights per day during 737 MAX 9 groundings
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Alaska Airlines continues to cancel 110 to 150 flights each day as a result of the Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of all Boeing 737-9 MAX airplanes following the Flight 1282 incident, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced on Jan. 17.
Thousands of Alaska and United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights have been canceled or swapped for different planes since the Jan. 6 grounding. Because the grounded planes make up 20% of the company’s fleet, Minicucci said that Alaska Airlines will continue to experience issues until the FAA’s investigation into the planes is complete.
“We will return these aircraft to service only when all findings have been fully resolved and meet the stringent standards of Boeing, the FAA and Alaska Airlines,” Minicucci said. “With respect to the cancellations, I’ve asked our team to give guests as much advance notice as possible, and our reservations team is working around the clock to re-accommodate people on other flights.”
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This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been at the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP) This image provided by Kelly Bartlett shows passengers with oxygen masks on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, Flight 1282, which was forced to return to Portland International Airport on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (Kelly Bartlett via AP) This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows a gaping hole where the paneled-over door had been at the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Jan. 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP) This image provided by Kelly Bartlett shows passengers near a hole in the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, Flight 1282, which was forced to return to Portland International Airport on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (Kelly Bartlett via AP) In this photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Friday night shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
The FAA announced that it is expanding its probe into Boeing after a fuselage plug blew off Flight 1282 on Jan. 5, leaving a door-sized hole in the plane’s cabin at 16,000. The incident horrified passengers and required an emergency landing back at the Portland International Airport minutes after takeoff.
“After taking decisive action to ground 171 Boeing 737-9 MAX airplanes, the FAA is now investigating Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, bolstering its oversight of Boeing, and examining potential system change,” the FAA said in a statement Wednesday.
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Following the investigation the FAA and Boeing will determine if and when any or all of the 737 MAX 9 planes can return to service. It remains unclear how long this process will take.
“To all who have been impacted by these disruptions, I am sorry,” Minicucci said. “When you make plans, you put your trust in us, and we haven’t been able to deliver.”
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