Hundreds of flights canceled after ice closes Sea-Tac runways – KIRO 7 News Seattle

Sea-Tac, Wash. — Hundreds of flights were canceled at Sea-Tac International Airport on Friday as an ice storm arrived in western Washington and closed runways.

“Around 2:00 a.m., the airfield was hit with freezing rain that quickly hardened on the surface,” Port of Seattle spokesman Perry Cooper told KIRO 7 at 3:30 a.m.

At 6:57 a.m., the airport tweeted that one runway had reopened after deicing.

Other runways will remain closed indefinitely until the airport closes. Tweet after 3:30pm. The second runway was reopened.

Alaska Airlines said throughout the night that most flights had been canceled and would be available for rebooking in the next few days, allowing anyone whose flight was canceled who lives near Seattle to “go home.” announced with a loudspeaker.

“It’s better to actually rebook and try to get the system online than to be at the counter,” says Cooper. “If you live here, go home and try it online.”

“Since midnight, we have canceled more than 270 scheduled flights in Portland and Seattle, with more cancellations and delays expected. It may take several days to respond. Our contact center faces long hold times as we try to support thousands of guests and work around the clock to reunite guests and bags. Due to limited availability, we strongly encourage you to re-evaluate your travel plans,” the airline said in a post.

Meanwhile, as of 1:06 PM, FlightAware showed 554 flights canceled and 212 delayed.

Some airlines pre-cancelled flights before the storm.

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