More cancellations, delays at Sea-Tac amid latest burst of snowy winter weather, COVID

Another round of snow and continued pandemic-induced staffing problems brought an unwanted distinction to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: for the second day in a row, the airport had more cancelled flights than any other airport on the planet.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, airlines had canceled 289 arrivals and departures at Sea-Tac Airport — more than a quarter of all of Thursday’s scheduled flights, and the highest number of any airport in the world — according to the website FlightAware.com.

The cancellations, which scrapped 148 departures and 141 arrivals, bring Sea-Tac’s cancellation total to more than 1,450 since Sunday, when heavy snow on top of ongoing staffing issues began snarling domestic air travel, according to the flight tracking site.

Thursday’s cancellations brought more frustration for many travelers who had already been hit by cancellations that were starting to surge even before Christmas.

Randi Evans, a Seattle native now living near Oakland, California, has been stuck in Seattle with her husband and three children since Sunday, when their Alaska Air flight was canceled. After hours of waiting and another cancellation, the couple managed to rebook a flight — for Thursday — but “don’t feel optimistic,” Evans said. “It just seems like such a mess.”

The mess is likely to persist. More snow was falling around Seattle early Thursday, with 1 to 3 inches expected in much of Western Washington. So far, another 77 flights into or out of Sea-Tac on Friday have been canceled, according to FlightAware.

Winter weather and the fast-spreading omicron variant conspired this week to create delays and flight cancellations, stranding some passengers who planned holiday travel. All over the country, airlines have faced staffing shortages due to coronavirus infections and quarantines.

COVID infections among flight attendants are rising across the country as the omicron variant spreads, said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, in an emailed statement Thursday.

“Staffing remains tight as workers are hesitant to pick up voluntary overtime due to disruptive passengers, COVID concerns, and COVID test positives during the busiest travel period of the year,” said Nelson, whose union represents 50,000 attendants. “We have negotiated holiday incentives to help with operational challenges but there’s only so far you can stretch people.”

Although staffing issues have struck the industry as a whole, the problems have been exacerbated at airports beset by heavy winter weather. For several days now, Sea-Tac has had the most cancellations of any airport in the world, according to FlightAware.

That’s a distinction Sea-Tac Airport workers are doing everything they can to escape, as crews are working hard to keep runways clear and other operations running smoothly.

But the airport has also prepared terminals to handle delayed and stranded passengers, and restaurants and retailers were stocked up for high demand, Port of Seattle spokesperson Kate Hudson said.

“We have handed out hundreds of blankets this week to guests who have had long stays in the terminal waiting for a postponed flight,” Hudson said.

Still, main advice for travelers hasn’t changed. “If you do not need to travel, consider delaying,” Hudson said. “If you do need to travel, come prepared for crowds and the potential for change.”