Alaska Airlines has announced the cancellation of 170 flights on Sunday and another 60 on Monday, following the grounding of 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes by the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for mandatory inspections. The Seattle-based airline, which currently has 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9s in its fleet, said that cancellations will continue through the first half of the week.
The grounding came after an eight-week-old Alaska Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing when a gap in the fuselage was discovered after takeoff. The FAA has ordered that the planes remain grounded until inspections are completed and they are deemed safe.