Airlines respond to cancellations, delays

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 who is Alaska Airlines' Vice President of airline operations and customer service. 

Alaska Airlines says de-icing is the main reason for the cancelled 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 says the cancellations being seeing today are in large part because of the additional time it takes to de-ice as well as limited here at the airport.

“It just takes time, we want to make sure we take the time we need to de-ice our aircraft to make sure they’re safe to fly,” Alaska Airlines' Seattle Base Chief Pilot Ron Limes said. 

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’re excited to see snow, we’re ready,” said Jaime Stenson who is the manager for SeaTac Field Crews. 

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 today. 

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