COVID and snow force hundreds more flight cancellations at Sea-Tac Airport

[brooklynite]

Seattle Times

For yet another day, travelers anxious to fly to or from the Seattle area faced cancellations, delays, lost luggage, unexpected hotel stays and mounting frustration with the way airlines were coping — or not coping — with winter weather and pandemic-related staffing issues.

Since the snow began coming down Sunday, more than 1,000 flights into and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have been canceled with hundreds more delayed. With another storm forecast for Seattle later this week, and airline industrywide staffing shortages unresolved, many travelers were bracing for days more of delays and disappointment.

“It’s just staggering,” said Jason Maddocks, a Seattle resident who has been marooned with his wife, Amy, in a Houston hotel at their own expense since their Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle was canceled Sunday — and hopes to be on a rebooked flight Wednesday.

As of late Tuesday, airlines had canceled 258 flights into or out of Sea-Tac Airport, or roughly a quarter of all flights scheduled Tuesday, according to the website FlightAware.com. Another 170 flights scheduled for Wednesday and 172 Thursday flights had also been canceled, according to the flight-tracking site.

Looks like we got out just before everything fell apart.

[LisaM]

1. We went before Christmas and returned Christmas Eve

We did miss our first flight out but that was due to long lines and to the fact that their much-touted light rail to the airport doesn't start running quite early enough and takes too long to get there.

Anyway, we avoided what's going on now, thankfully.

[cilla4progress]

2. My dearest sister-friend

had her flight out for a much anticipated once-in-a-lifeime trip cancelled!

😢

[Klaralven]

3. They need George Kennedy with the big plow

[leftstreet]

4. LOL