Over 100 flights are still being cancelled each day by Alaska Airlines

Image of multiple planes on the ground at an airport

Up to 150 flights are still being cancelled each day by Alaska Airlines due to the ongoing grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 fleet

Inspections continue after a door plug detached during flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, Canada on 5 January. No timeframe has been determined for when the planes will be approved to fly again.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said the airline will continue to cancel flights and make adjustments until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) completes its probe. According to the airline, each day of 737 MAX 9 cancellations impacts between 110 to 150 Alaska flights, depending on the flight schedule.

“We will return these aircraft to service only when all findings have been fully resolved and meet the stringent standards of Boeing, the FAA and Alaska Airlines,” Minicucci said.

“With respect to the cancellations, I’ve asked our team to give guests as much advance notice as possible, and our reservations team is working around the clock.”

The FAA said it was “looking closely at Boeing’s manufacturing practices” and “examining potential system change”.

With 65 of the 737 MAX 9 planes in its fleet of 231 Boeing 737 aircrafts, Alaska’s sister regional carrier, Horizon Air, continues to help get guests to their destinations by flying some routes that Alaska would normally fly with the 737 MAX 9.