Alaska Airlines Cancels 9 Percent of Its Flights Over Staffing Woes

The first Alaska Airlines passenger flight on a Boeing 737-9 Max airplane takes off on a flight to San Diego from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, on Mar. 1, 2021. Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

PORTLAND, Ore.—Alaska Airlines canceled dozens of U.S. West Coast flights Friday as off-duty pilots picketed in several major cities over an impasse in nearly three years of contract negotiations, and the airline said more cancellations were possible through the weekend.

More than 120 Alaska Airlines flights were canceled—about 9 percent of its operations—and about 15,300 passengers were affected, the airline said in a statement. Canceled flights included 66 in Seattle; 20 in Portland, Oregon; 10 in Los Angeles; and seven in San Francisco, according to the flight tracking website flightaware.com.