SEATTLE — SeaTac Airport is expecting to see 940,000 travelers pass through their doors this holiday season. This week's weather has already caused hundreds of cancellations.
“We want to make sure we’re providing guests with as much advanced notice as possible and so if we cancel closer in then they are at the airport already,” said Celley Buchanan, Alaska Airlines' Vice President of airline operations and customer service.
Alaska Airlines said de-icing is the main reason for the canceled flights.
There are different levels to de-icing and a plane will not take off if there is ice accumulation on it. SeaTac has eight de-icing pads at the airport. Alaska Airlines said the cancellations being seen Tuesday are in large part because of the additional time it takes to de-ice as well as the limited space at the airport.
“It just takes time," said Ron Limes, Alaska Airlines' Seattle base chief. "We want to make sure we take the time we need to de-ice our aircraft to make sure they’re safe to fly."
Over to the north end of the airport in the cargo area, SeaTac’s field crew has been working 12-hour shifts since Saturday on standby.
“We are excited to see snow," said Jaime Stenson, the manager for SeaTac field crews. "We are ready."
The goal is to clear the runway in 30 minutes. SeaTac is in charge of clearing runways, taxiways and around the terminal.
SeaTac maintains the ground while airlines take care of the planes.
Alaska Airlines plans to be back on schedule on Wednesday. So far, it has rebooked about 70% of passengers from Tuesday.