Still need to fly? Airlines canceling Tri-Cities flights during coronavirus spread

A number of flights in and out of the Tri-Cities have been canceled with the drastically reduced demand for air travel as COVID-19 continues to spread.

The website for the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco showed a couple of cancellations on Wednesday, with more by Thursday.

The flights affected so far are operated by Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines, to both Seattle and Salt Lake City.

United Airlines and Allegiant Air appear to still be in full operation in the Tri-Cities.

Airport officials said last week that it is considered an essential service provider, and will continue to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Many operators are doing like Alaska Airlines, which announced this week it is slashing flight schedules by 70 percent through May following “historic and unprecedented falloff in demand.”

“Flight schedules for June and beyond will be based on demand, but it is our expectation that reductions will be substantial for at least the next several months,” Alaska CEO Brad Tilden wrote in a company statement.

The statement noted that Alaska is seeing demand reductions of more than 80 percent since government leaders across the country either ordered or encouraged social distancing and only essential travel.

The schedule reductions and other steps are being done to “conserve cash,” Tilden said.

At the same time, many carriers are also offering discounted fares.

Delta officials said last week they are cutting capacity by 70 percent for an indefinite period. It also reported plummeting revenue, saying the biggest declines are in the international market.

People who have scheduled flights can check the status with the airline or on the Tri-Cities Airport’s website, flytricities.com.

For those who must fly during this period, they can bring full-size hand sanitizers and will find grab-and-go food options from airport concessionaires, especially since airlines are reducing food and drink service on board flights.

People who need to pick up passengers should do it curbside and limit the number of people who go inside the airport to greet travelers to one.

This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 4:03 PM.