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Alaska Airlines slashing San Francisco airport flights

Federal court documents charging a pilot who tried to cut a flight's engine power Sunday say he told investigators he had eaten psychedelic mushrooms.
Alaska is cutting up to 168 flights, including at least 72 from SFO. | Source: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Alaska Airlines is dropping routes from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) early next year.

The airline will cut 72 weekly flights, losing more than 5,400 seats, from SFO to Paine Field in Everett, Washington.

Up to 48 weekly flights may also be cut on the following routes:

  • Los Angeles to Las Vegas;
  • San Francisco to New York JFK and Spokane;
  • Seattle to Atlanta, Eugene, New York JFK, Oakland, Portland and Sacramento.

Away from San Francisco, Alaska will slash a further 48 weekly flights representing more than 12,700 seats among the Seattle, Tacoma and Sacramento airports.

The cuts represent a possible total loss of 168 flights, though the airline says the measures may be temporary.

The Sky Terrace at San Francisco International Airport | Source: Courtesy SFO

An Alaska spokesperson confirmed last week that reporting by Simple Flying, which broke the story, was accurate.

"We’re temporarily reducing frequencies in some key markets due to a lack of business demand, which is slow to recover in the wake of the pandemic," the spokesperson told The Standard on Thursday. "We’re also increasing for late this year, into early next year, our flying to leisure sun and ski destinations, including adding new destinations of Nassau and Guatemala City."

In a statement last month, Alaska Airlines announced it would begin nonstop flights three times a day between SFO and Hollywood Burbank on Dec. 14, 2023. Soon after, Southwest announced its own cuts between the two airports.