Alaska Airlines announces in a press release that they are reducing their January schedule, citing the disruptions from the Omicron variant of COVID-19. They write that the “continued impacts … have been disruptive in all our lives and unprecedented employee sick calls have impacted our ability to operate our airline reliably.”
A sizeable number of Alaska Airline flights were canceled during Christmas and New Year’s as a result of the weather in Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport and the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Alaska Airlines, in the Thursday press release apologized to their guests for the considerable inconvenience and said that they are working hard to return to the level of service customers know and expect.
Moving forward, the airline states that they need to build more reliability back into their operation as they deal with the impacts of Omicron and during a time when guests generally fly less. They have chosen to reduce departures by about 10% through the end of January, giving the flexibility and capacity needed to reset while continued flexible travel policies enable guests to adjust their plans accordingly.
Despite the challenges, Alaska Airlines writes that they will improve where they must and see through on the promise to deliver nonstop care each and every day.
Photo courtesy of the Alaska Airlines Facebook page.