Alaska Airlines has warned that it could be forced to cancel flights because so many flight attendants have gone sick that it will struggle to staff scheduled services.
The news comes just days after a slew of other major U.S. airlines activated emergency contingency plans to deal with crew shortages caused by mass sickness as flu cases surge across the country.
New record as 540 flight attendants go sick
In an internal memo, Alaska’s vice president of inflight, Allen Thieman, told staff that on Saturday, a record number of flight attendants had called out sick. According to Thieman, more than 540 flight attendants are currently absent, and, as a result, the airline might need to start cancelling flights.
Alaska Airlines is offering incentives to flight attendants on days off or holidays to pick up extra trips and fill all the available gaps. So far, at the very least, cancellations have remained pretty low.
On Saturday, the airline only cancelled 32 flights, while 326 flights, representing 37% of its total schedule, were delayed. On Sunday, flight tracking service Flight Aware reported that the airline had cancelled 34 flights and delays affected 160 flights.
Frontier, JetBlue, and Spirit activate emergency contingency plans
In the last few days, several other major carriers have activated emergency contingency plans to deal with unusually high levels of sick calls from flight attendants and pilots.
Spirit told staffers in an internal memo that, coupled with winter weather delays and air traffic control shortages, its reserve resources had been “fully depleted.”
“Our reserve levels are virtually the same as they have been since 2023, but during this holiday our sick calls have exceeded previous periods by nearly 250% on some days,” the memo added.
Spirit’s chief operating officer put a call out for action, saying: “We need to get the airline back on its feet immediately. Everyone who isn’t sick has been working very hard and around the clock, your efforts are commendable. Some of you have been extended multiple times and have continued to give us your best, thank you.”
Spirit activated its so-called ‘Level 3’ contingency plan due to the high sickness rates, which is exactly what JetBlue has also been forced to do in the last few days.
A memo, which was reviewed by PYOK, explained that nearly one in five flight attendants at JetBlue had called out sick just before the New Year. The airline noted that this is much higher than last year and that the rate of sickness amongst crew members had become “unsustainable.”
While some airlines are offering incentives to fill crewing gaps, Frontier Airlines suggested that not all the absences could be accounted for due to genuine sickness and has started to demand doctors’ notes for any sick leave.
CDC warns of ‘elevated’ flu levels
As of December 20, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)estimates that there have been 7.5 million flu illnesses so far this season, resulting in 81,000 hospitalizations and 3,100 deaths.
In its weekly influenza report, the CDC warned that flu activity is “elevated and continues to increase across the country.”
The most recent figures from the CDC have been delayed due to the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
