Over 1,500 Alaska Airlines flights have now been impacted in the 2 weeks since the 737 Max 9 blowout

18.01.2024 - 16:35 / insider.com / United Airlines / Airlines

The Boeing 737 Max 9 saga has impacted more than 1,500 Alaska Airlines flights as the carrier said there will be cancelations through Friday.

Friday also marks two weeks since the Flight 1282 blowout which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all 737 Max 9 jets with a door plug.

Alaska Airlines has 65 such aircraft that operate between 110 to 150 flights a day, depending on the schedule.

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18 of those planes briefly returned to service after being inspected following the blowout, but they were grounded again when the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive on January 6.

"The ongoing grounding of the 737-9 Max continues to have a tremendous impact on our operation," Alaska Airlines said in a Wednesday statement.

It added that some routes are being flown by its sister regional carrier, Horizon Air, so passengers can still reach their destinations.

But Alaska Airlines canceled 158 flights on Wednesday at a rate of 24%, per FlightAware.

The majority of those were scheduled to be on 737 Max 9 planes, although bad weather has also disrupted flights around the US.

United Airlines is the largest operator of the Max 9 with 79 such aircraft. It hasn't specified the number of routes it operates as Alaska Airlines has, but according to FlightAware, it canceled 203 flights on Wednesday — most of which were on 737 Max 9 planes.

The FAA said Wednesday that the first 40 inspections had been completed and the agency will review the data before approving an inspection and maintenance process.

"We're awaiting the next steps based on this collection of new information, including the final inspection orders so we can begin safely returning our planes to service," Alaska Airlines said.