'Deeply sorry' Alaska CEO: Flight cancellations to continue

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Friday, May 13th, 2022 12:10pm

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Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci.

Seattle (AP) - The CEO of Alaska Airlines says the high level of flight cancellations since April will continue through this month.

The Seattle Times reports Ben Minicucci said in a message to employees Thursday evening that stability should return in June.

He said the airline has been canceling about 50 of the 1,200 flights it operates every day.

He said Alaska started April and May with 63 fewer pilots than needed to fly the published flight schedule.

Management didn’t recognize this shortage until too late.

The airline has centralized staff and schedule planning under one team and prioritized hiring, training, and recruiting for pilots, flight attendants, and other workgroups.

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