It’s not a Hallmark Christmas movie at Sea-Tac International Airport today. Travelers trying to get south from Alaska for the holidays are encountering over one hundred canceled Alaska Airlines flights to Seattle after an ice storm hit western Washington overnight. At 4 a.m., all runways were closed at Seattle-Tacoma, with one runway opening at 6 a.m.
“SEA runways are currently closed indefinitely as we continue to work to de-ice the surfaces. Safety is our priority before we can reopen the runways. Check with your airline for further updates on your specific flight,” the airport posted on Twitter just after 5:10 a.m. One runway out of three opened just before 7 a.m.
“Limited operations will continue to be weather dependent as safety is always our main priority,” the airport said.
FightAware.com, a real-time flight tracker, showed that as of 9:45 am, 477 domestic flights were canceled and another 124 flights were delayed at Sea-Tac. By the time this story was finished three minutes later, the website showed that 480 flights were cancelled, and by the time it was proofread at 9:53 a.m. Pacific time, the cancelled flights were up to 488.
Those hoping to reach Seattle and drive somewhere will encounter roads that are coated with at least one quarter inch of ice, making ice skates a more viable transportation method in Puget Sound. It’s unlikely that drivers will be able to safely navigate the roads to and from the airport, as many roads are blocked by cars that are simply unable to move. Power outages have begun and are expected to continue as the ice brings down trees and limbs over power lines.
