Alaska Air temporarily cancels Pullman-Moscow evening flights to Seattle

Alaska Airlines has temporarily canceled evening flights to Seattle from Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport as a result of its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes being grounded.

The planes have been grounded since last week after a fuselage panel blew out while in-flight over Oregon.

Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport director Tony Bean said Alaska Airlines is meeting demand by using its Embraer 175 planes for other routes that were typically flown by Boeing 737s.

As a result, the Embraer 175 planes that typically land in Pullman are unavailable.

Bean said this is Alaska’s effort to be efficient with its aircraft while ensuring the safety of its passengers.

“No one in this industry is going to put a passenger at risk,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Max 9s operated by Alaska and United and some flown by foreign airlines after the flight on Friday night that left a gaping hole in the fuselage, according to The Associated Press. The plane, which had been heading for Southern California, made it back to Portland and none of the 171 passengers or six crew members was seriously injured, according to The Associated press.

In a news release, Alaska Airlines officials said all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes are grounded through Saturday while it conducts inspections. This equates to 110-150 flights per day.