Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 8th.
Alaska Airlines is cutting 2% of its flights through the end of June due to a pilot shortage, the airline said Thursday.
The cuts, made to accommodate the airline’s current pilot capacity, will be reflected in Alaska’s published schedule in mid-April, the airline said in a statement. Alaska also warned that these reductions will show up as cancellations.
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The flight schedule adjustment comes at a time when travelers are already returning to airports nationwide and airport traffic is approaching pre-pandemic levels. Demand has continued to pick up in recent weeks as travelers head out for spring break and other holidays that may have been delayed due to the pandemic.
People check in at Alaska Airlines ticket counters at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Reuters/Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)
The airline was already forced to cancel “an unusual number of flights” earlier this month because of a backlog in its pilot training program, Alaska said. But the cancellations were unrelated to the pilots, who Alaska said were planning an information strike earlier this month over a deadlock in contract negotiations.
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALK | ALASKA AIR GROUP INC. | 53.40 | -1.64 | -2.98% |
“Trainings were canceled and rescheduled due to student or trainer illness during the Omicron wave and the operational impact of winter storms, and they were not rescheduled quickly enough,” Alaska said.
As a result of the delays, the airline “had 63 fewer pilots ready to fly in April than we planned for January.”
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But more than 30 pilots are expected to complete the training school this month “and more in May,” which should help the airliner get back on track amid the busy travel season.
Travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport check the status of flights, including some that have been canceled, on displays in a gate terminal, Friday, April 1, 2022 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S Warren/AP Newsroom)
Meanwhile, Alaska said it will try to minimize disruption and give affected passengers advance warning.
Those customers are also privy to a “unique phone number” that the airline says directs them to “someone who can help without a long wait.”