Alaska Airlines is cutting back on some of its November and December flights. Daily flights from Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington, will be reduced, along with direct flights from Redmond, Oregon to Portland, Oregon.
Alaska Airlines is the only carrier to connect Wichita, Kansas to Seattle, Washington directly, and the airline ordinarily flies this route daily.
However, the airline is cutting its Saturday Wichita-Seattle flight in November and December, as well as its Tuesday service in December, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) said in an update.
ICT said that this is due to “labor shortages” but did not elaborate further.
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told AeroTime Hub that the flight cuts are “part of standard seasonal operation changes.”
Meanwhile, the airline’s direct flights between Redmond, Oregon, to Portland, Oregon, will also decrease. All Redmond to Portland flights after November 3, 2021, will require a stop via Seattle.
Alaska Airlines is not the only carrier to cut flights ahead of the season. In August 2021, Southwest Airlines (LUV) made an announcement that it will reduce its daily flights in September and October of 2021 as they fix operational issues and hire new staff.
The United States is facing a nationwide labor shortage problem across all industries, and while analysts have predicted for this to ease from September 2021 onwards, it is expected to last another two to three years.