Horizon Airlines Exits Colorado Springs Over Pilot Shortage

Photo: airplane-pictures.com / Brandon Farris

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Horizon Air – operating for Alaska Airlines – will cancel its 1x daily Seattle service from Colorado Springs due to a pilot shortage.

The service is expected to end on November 4, the airport has announced.

Horizon’s operations have been severely hampered this year by a lack of qualified pilots for its fleet of fifty-two Dash 8-400s and ten EMB-175s.

Portland Int’l, OR and Seattle Tacoma Int’l services were reduced in July following the forced cancellation of more than 318 flights in March. The airline has also deferred delivery of six EMB-175s as it does not have enough pilots to fly them.

“While we are disappointed that the Colorado Springs Airport is losing service from Alaska Airlines in November, we are aggressively pursuing other carriers to provide service to Seattle, an important destination for our region,” said Greg Phillips, the airport’s Director of Aviation, adding that Horizon’s load factors had been around 83% for its Seattle flights.

Source: ch-aviation.com