Alaska Airlines is canceling all flights on its 737 MAX 9 jets through to Saturday as it continues to wait for regulatory consent to restart flying after a cabin panel blowout on one of its Boeing-made aircraft.
United Airlines, another major operator of the Boeing jet, has also canceled flights, with both airlines canceling a combined 342 flights on Monday, 348 flights on Tuesday, and 333 flights on Wednesday.
Alaska Airlines canceled 19 percent of its flights on Wednesday, according to airline tracking service FlightAware.
Regarding delayed flights, 362 United Airlines flights were delayed on Wednesday, and 182 Alaska Airlines, comprising 28 percent of its flights.
The cancellations come after an Alaska Airlines flight last Friday was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel and window blew out less than 10 minutes into the flight.
On Saturday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 Boeing jets installed with the same paneling, including all 65 of Alaska Airlines’ 737 MAX 9s.
No one was seriously hurt in the incident, but it has raised questions about how Boeing’s top-selling jet is made.
Concerns deepened after United Airlines said it had found loose bolts on some of its aircraft during inspections.
Boeing’s president and CEO, Dave Calhoun, has admitted the Alaska Airlines incident was “our mistake” and that the company will “approach this with complete transparency.”
Numerous production and quality control issues have plagued the jet, threatening deeper damage to Boeing’s reputation.
Mr. Calhoun said the new drama had left customers “very anxious.”
On Tuesday, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said travelers had a right to feel safe.
“And in that spirit, these particular Boeing aircraft will remain grounded until operators completely complete enhanced inspections,” she said.
Alaska Airlines said it can’t return its 737 MAX 9 jets to service until the FAA provides details about how to inspect the planes.
“While we await the airworthiness directive inspection criteria from the FAA and Boeing, our maintenance teams are prepared and ready to perform the required inspections,” the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.
United has 79 of the 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet. On Sunday, the airline said it would temporarily suspend flights of the jet until FAA inspections have been carried out.
“Flights operated by a 737 MAX 8 are not impacted,” the airline said.
The FAA said its grounding directive will impact 171 planes around the world.
Even though some affected airlines’ fleets comprise hundreds of planes, temporary flight suspensions can still strain travelers as operators scramble to fix scheduling issues.
Rescheduling depends on a variety of factors. Airlines with larger fleets will generally have an easier time shuffling aircraft around to meet customer demand. Airlines with smaller fleets and airlines relying more heavily on the affected planes could find it more difficult.
Location can also play a role. Airports capable of supporting a larger number of aircraft are more likely to have spare planes to replace the grounded ones.
CNN Wire and Reuters contributed to this report.
