Airlines cut back flights because of coronavirus

SeaTac, Wash. — Coronavirus reminders at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport include a few passengers wearing masks, hand sanitizer stations, and signs about preventing COVID-19.

And then there are empty spaces.

"It's dead," said Wesley McKnight, as he was headed for Las Vegas.

With people hesitant to travel, airlines are announcing plans to cut back.

Alaska Airlines says it will make some schedule reductions in March and April, and cut flights by about 3 percent in May.

Delta will cut international capacity 20 percent to 25 percent, with the Pacific market down 65 percent. Domestic capacity will be down 10 percent to 15 percent.

American and United are also canceling flights.

Airport officials say they’ll get passenger numbers from the airlines in about a week-and-a-half, and say there are still some crowds at SEA, with a few TSA lines this week extending more than 20 minutes.

“There were a number of empty seats and the return trip same thing,” Glen Yaffa said of his typically fullMissoula flights.

Yaffa said he'd never seen so few people at Sea-Tac.

Delta already made cuts impacting flights from Seattle to China, Japan and Korea.

Additional schedule cuts won’t take effect immediately and airport officials say SEA might be a bit insulated because it is a major hub for both Alaska and Delta.

© 2020 Cox Media Group