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Important Update: Irregular Operations Due to Civil Unrest In Mexico

In response to the significant operational disruptions caused by the civil unrest affecting cities throughout Mexico, particularly Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Guadalajara (GDL), and Manzanillo (ZLO), management continues to operate under an Irregular Operations (IROPS) situation. Our MEC and Committees are actively monitoring the situation and working with management to support our Flight Attendants. Management has posted alerts on Team AAG with information about the situation. We encourage you to review these alerts and continue to check Team AAG for additional updates.

All flights to and from PVR, GDL, and ZLO were canceled today (Sunday, February 22). Management intends to resume operations tomorrow (Monday, February 23), if conditions allow. All Mexico flights will follow section 8.S [Natural Disasters, Acts of War, Riots, Terrorism, etc.] of the CBA, with all crews turning and no layovers. Please review section 8.S for details on applicable rules for these sequences, including extended duty days, pay, and rest provisions.

Your safety and well-being remain our top priority. Please review the following information carefully to understand your rights, responsibilities, and available resources.

What To Do If You Are Directly Impacted

If you are directly impacted by the disaster—such as a mandatory evacuation, property damage, loss of power, blocked transportation, or immediate safety threats—your number one priority must be your own safety and well-being. Contact your LEC Officers for assistance and guidance about your contractual protections.

If you cannot report to work because of the disaster, review the Commuter Policy in Section 36 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Notify Crew Scheduling as soon as you know you will be unable to reach your base. Keep any necessary documentation to be submitted to management as required. The Commuter Policy protects you if travel is disrupted for reasons outside your control. For more details or assistance, please refer to the contract or contact your LEC Officers.

If You Are On a Layover

If you’re on a layover, focus on your safety and well-being. Stay with your crew and other Alaska crew members if possible. Follow the instructions from local authorities and hotel staff regarding sheltering or evacuation. If you’re told to leave, ensure your safety before taking any further action. Once you’re safe, please notify Crew Scheduling and your LEC Officers of your status and location as soon as possible. Keep records of your situation, save receipts for any personal expenses, and keep your phone charged for updates.

Contractual and Scheduling References (CBA)

Click here to view our current contract >

Please reference the following sections of our CBA to understand your rights and responsibilities during this IROPS situation:

  • Sections 8.K, 8.L, 8.M, and 8.N: Rest Requirements: In prolonged IROPS situations, rest periods may be impacted. Know your minimum rest requirements and legal limitations. If you believe your rest is compromised, immediately contact Crew Scheduling and your LEC Officers.
  • Letter of Agreement (LOA) 6: Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP): If you’re too fatigued to fly, you can call in fatigued under the FRMP and be removed from duty so you can rest. Review this section for details on how the program works, your options, and what you need to do after making a fatigue call.
  • Section 8.G: Fourteen-Hour (14:00) Duty Provisions: If you’re at a domicile or co-terminal and your duty period shows in Crew Access as projected to or actually exceeding 14 hours, you may contact Crew Scheduling and choose to be replaced and pay protected. If you remain on the pairing or are at an outstation and don’t have the option to be replaced, you’ll receive premium pay.
  • Section 8.I: Night Rule: This applies if you are on duty at 4:29 AM local time (using the initial departure station time for that duty period) and your duty day in Crew Access is expected to be longer than 10 hours and 30 minutes. You may contact Crew Scheduled to be released by 8:30 AM local time if you’re at a domicile, or receive extra pay if you waive the Night Rule or are at a co-terminal or outstation and can’t be released.
  • Section 10.R: Reassignments: These provisions apply when your pairing is revised on or after the first day of a sequence. The Reassignment Flow Chart provides a guide to help you understand how Crew Scheduling handles reassignments and same-day schedule changes. The Reassignment Pay Flow Chart explains what pay you’re due for being reassigned.
  • Section 10.S: Pre-Cancellations: This section applies when a flight on your schedule is canceled before the first day of the pairing that includes the canceled flight. The Pre-Cancellation Flow Chart explains your options if you’re affected. 
  • Sections 21.J, 21.M, 21.N, and 21.Q: Pay and Compensation for Disrupted Trips: These sections explain pay protection and how you’ll be credited for flight cancellations or delays caused by IROPS. It’s important to monitor Rainmaker after completing your pairing to ensure that any additional pay due to you is properly credited. See A Note About Pay below.
  • Section 34: Lodging and Transportation: This section outlines the company’s responsibility to provide transportation and accommodations if you’re stranded or away from your base due to IROPS. If you don’t receive company-provided transportation within 35 minutes of block-in or your hotel room key within 90 minutes of arrival at the hotel, you may be able to arrange your own transportation or hotel (self-help) by following the steps in Section 34.D. Be sure to keep records of your wait times and document them as described in this section to protect your rights and possibly get compensation for the wait.

A Note About Pay
To help ensure your compensation is accurate, pay analysts pull reports weekly, but it’s essential for you to review Rainmaker prior to filing any pay inquiries—unless a specific exception is outlined in the required inquiries drop-down menu. Doing this helps resolve the most common issues more quickly and avoids unnecessary delays. After your Rainmaker is updated, AFA Representatives are able to assist with pay inquiries if you still have questions or concerns.

Resources Available

We strongly encourage you to utilize the following resources for assistance and up-to-date information:

  • AFA Irregular Operations Quick Reference Guide: This is your main source for AFA-specific information about IROPS, contact details for key AFA Representatives, and contract references.
  • Company Scheduling & Operations:
    • Crew Scheduling: Contact for any questions about trips, hotels, or immediate operations.
    • Base Management: May be able to assist with non-scheduling-related issues (such as hotels or transportation) if Crew Scheduling hold times are too long. Watch for Team AAG alerts to see if management is activating base management to assist with these tasks.
    • Team AAG Alerts: Management may use these to quickly share new information, updates, or instructions.
  • AFA Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/Professional Standards Committee: A confidential resource available 24/7 to help you and your family cope with stress, trauma, or emotional distress resulting from the natural disaster and operational disruption.
    • EAP Contact: (949) 470-0493 or eap@afaalaska.org
  • Local Council Support: Your LEC Officers and Committees (especially Hotel, Scheduling, and EAP) are ready to help. You can find their contact information by following the link to your Local Council’s committee list on the Contact Us page of afaalaska.org.
  • Safety Reporting: If you encounter any safety concerns, please use the appropriate reporting method (e.g., ASAP, FAIR, etc.) to document the situation. You can also reach out to our AFA Air Safety, Health, & Security Committee (ASHSC) for help or advice.

We appreciate your professionalism, resilience, and patience during this challenging period. Please take care of yourselves and your flying partners. We’ll continue to update you as the situation evolves and we receive more information from management.

Special Post IT Incident Debrief Next Week

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants

This Week’s Monthly Scheduling Committee Meeting Canceled

Due to Sunday’s IT outage and the subsequent ground stop, management has decided to cancel this Tuesday’s monthly Scheduling Committee meeting. This decision was made so their efforts could be focused on operational recovery activities to restore normal operations. Our Scheduling Committee will next meet with management on Tuesday, August 26.

AFA and Management to Hold Post-Incident Debrief on Thursday, July 31

Following the incident, representatives from the MEC Officers, Scheduling Committee, and Grievance Committee will participate in a debrief with Crew Scheduling and Inflight Performance management on Thursday, July 31. The purpose of this debrief is to address and resolve issues reported by Flight Attendants that occurred during the event, including commuting challenges, hotel wait times, self-help issues, lodging at non-qualified hotels, scheduling adjustments and legalities, transportation delays, and performance issues (CBA section 32 – inability to scan in, no-shows, late arrivals, sick leave, etc.).

If you were affected by the recent IT outage and have not yet submitted a ticket to the AFA Online Support Center, please do so by visiting support.afaalaska.org before Monday, July 28, at 12 PM PT. Submitting a ticket is crucial for ensuring your experience is included in the debrief agenda. Be sure to provide thorough supporting documentation, such as photos with timestamps, information from OAL flights, call logs, emails, and any receipts you may have. Please note that tickets lacking sufficient information may not yield favorable outcomes.

It’s important to understand that this debrief is not meant to address pay issues. Updates related to pay will be handled through Rainmaker. If you have specific pay-related inquiries, please submit only those listed in Rainmaker’s drop-down menu at this time. For any other pay-related concerns, if your pay has not been updated correctly by August 8, 2025, you may submit a query via Rainmaker. Please refrain from submitting an AFA Online Support Center ticket for pay issues, as those will not be reviewed during the July 31 debrief.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping us advocate for you!

December 2022 Pacific Northwest Winter Weather Event

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The snow and ice accumulation over the last several days in the Pacific Northwest has caused operational havoc throughout the Alaska Airlines system. Many Flight Attendants are being impacted by cancelled flights, reassignments, and other scheduling issues.
  • Your contract is one of the best resources to help answer questions about pre-cancellations, reassignments, duty times, and rest. The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated quick reference guide with some key contractual information.
  • If your flying has been impacted by the winter weather and you have contractual questions or concerns, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center. AFA Representatives are working to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible.

This week’s winter weather have had a significant impact on Alaska Airlines operations in Seattle and Portland.  Hundreds of flights have either been delayed or cancelled which has had a ripple effect throughout the system leaving virtually no Flight Attendants unimpacted.  AFA Representatives are actively working to try to resolve Flight Attendant concerns that have been reported, but management’s availability has been limited as they focus on fixing the operation.

If Your Flight Cancels

  • If your flight has been cancelled, you must still report as scheduled unless contacted by Crew Scheduling or you accept a cancellation notification in Crew Access.
  • If contacted by Crew Scheduling regarding a pre-cancellation, know your options.  Review section 10.S of the contract or the pre-cancellation flowchart.
  • If you have already reported for duty and your flight cancels, you must remain at the airport until released by Crew Scheduling.  Your duty period will run continuously until released.

If You Are Reassigned

Reassignments (including same-day cancellations) occur no earlier than midnight on the first day of a scheduled sequence.  They can occur prior to actual departure of the first leg of the sequence or at/after check-in.  For information about how reassignments occur, please see section 10.R of the contract or the reassignment flowchart.  For details about how pay is applied in a reassignment, see section 10.R.5 or the reassignment pay flowchart.

Difficulty Making it to the Airport

Significant Weather Ground Commuting Operations (SWGCO) have been declared for Seattle and Portland.  SWGCO provides additional ground commuter protections for Flight Attendants who may have difficulty reporting on time due to the inclement weather.  In order to receive protections under SWGCO, you must notify Crew Scheduling at least one hour prior to report that you won’t be able to report on time due to the weather.  Please review pages 3 and 4 of the full side letter of agreement for more information.

Management is also offering hotel rooms near the airport in SEA and PDX for those who are reporting for trips the following day.  Please fill out this form to request a hotel room.  Questions about in-base hotels should be directed to the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center at InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com or Base Management.  

Pay Questions & Rainmaker

If your flying has been impacted by irregular operations, be sure to monitor Rainmaker closely to ensure that your pay is reflected accurately.  Any pay questions should be submitted directly in Rainmaker as a pay query. 

Contractual Questions, Issues, and Concerns

Your contract is your best resources to answer scheduling and pay-related questions.  You can access the contract on the AFA Alaska website or on your IMD in Goodreader > ASFASupplemental > Collective Bargaining Agreement > Contract.  The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated irregular operations quick reference guide with key contractual information that may be helpful. 

If you have a contractual concern or issue that has come up and need assistance from an AFA representative, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center.  Members of the AFA Grievance, Reserve, and Scheduling Committees are working through submitted tickets as quickly as possible, but resolution may be delayed in some cases as management’s immediate focus is on operational issues.

For additional support, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee (lineholders), Local Reserve Committee (reserves), or your LEC Officers. 

December 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

Master Executive Council (MEC)

  • The snowfall that occurred over the last several days in the Pacific Northwest has caused operational havoc throughout the Alaska Airlines system. Many Flight Attendants are being impacted by cancelled flights, reassignments, and other scheduling issues.
  • Your contract is one of the best resources to help answer questions about pre-cancellations, reassignments, duty times, and rest. The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated quick reference guide with some key contractual information.
  • If your flying has been impacted by the snowstorm and you have contractual questions or concerns, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center. AFA Representatives are working to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible.

This week’s snowstorm and continued winter weather have had a significant impact on Alaska Airlines operations in Seattle and Portland.  Hundreds of flights have either been delayed or cancelled which has had a ripple effect throughout the system leaving virtually no Flight Attendants unimpacted.  AFA Representatives are actively working to try to resolve Flight Attendant concerns that have been reported, but management’s availability has been limited as they focus on fixing the operation.

If Your Flight Cancels

  • If your flight has been cancelled, you must still report as scheduled unless contacted by Crew Scheduling or you accept a cancellation notification in Crew Access.
  • If contacted by Crew Scheduling regarding a pre-cancellation, know your options.  Review section 10.S of the contract or the pre-cancellation flowchart.
  • If you have already reported for duty and your flight cancels, you must remain at the airport until released by Crew Scheduling.  Your duty period will run continuously until released.

Difficulty Making it to the Airport

Significant Weather Ground Commuting Operations (SWGCO) have been declared for Seattle and Portland.  SWGCO provides additional ground commuter protections for Flight Attendants who may have difficulty reporting on time due to the inclement weather.  In order to receive protections under SWGCO, you must notify Crew Scheduling at least one hour prior to report that you won’t be able to report on time due to the weather.  Please review pages 3 and 4 of the full side letter of agreement for more information.

Management is also offering hotel rooms near the airport in SEA and PDX for those who are reporting for trips the following day.  Please fill out this form to request a hotel room.  They have also authorized any F/A to expense $100 for Uber/Lyft transportation to/from the airport in order to get to work.  No advance approval is required and your base management can provide assistance with reimbursement.  Questions about in-base hotels or transportation reimbursement should be directed to the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center at InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com.  

Hotel or Transportation Issues While Flying

If you are currently flying and are having issues with hotels or ground transportation, you may be able to receive a quicker response from the Inflight Snow Ops Command Center by emailing InflightSnowOps@alaskaair.com.  Requests that go through the command center, especially ones that are not time sensitive, will free up Crew Scheduling to attend to other operational duties.  The command center is open from 08:00-20:00 Pacific time.  Outside of these hours Crew Scheduling will be your point of contact.

Pay Questions & Rainmaker

If your flying has been impacted by irregular operations, be sure to monitor Rainmaker closely to ensure that your pay is reflected accurately.  Any pay questions should be submitted directly in Rainmaker as a pay query. 

Contractual Questions, Issues, and Concerns

Your contract is your best resources to answer scheduling and pay-related questions.  You can access the contract on the AFA Alaska website or on your IMD in Goodreader > ASFASupplemental > Collective Bargaining Agreement > Contract.  The AFA Scheduling Committee has also put together an updated irregular operations quick reference guide with key contractual information that may be helpful. 

If you have a contractual concern or issue that has come up and need assistance from an AFA representative, please open a support ticket using the AFA Alaska Online Support Center.  Members of the AFA Grievance, Reserve, and Scheduling Committees are working through submitted tickets as quickly as possible, but resolution may be delayed in some cases as management’s immediate focus is on operational issues.

For additional support, please contact your Local Scheduling Committee (lineholders), Local Reserve Committee (reserves), or your LEC Officers. 

Presidents’ Day Weekend 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

Presidents’ Day Weekend 2021 Pacific Northwest Snowstorm

A Storm for the Record Books

What a weekend! The recent Pacific Northwest (PNW) snowstorm was one for the record books, so the systemwide severe irregular operations were not terribly surprising. That being said, it’s clear the operation became profoundly broken at various points: Crew Scheduling “perma hold” for up to two hours (assuming one could get through) and/or dropped calls, hotel rooms extremely delayed or unavailable, no ground transportation, significant delays and cancellations, et cetera, et cetera.

Operational Debrief with Management Next Week

Your AFA Alaska leadership knows you want answers as to what went wrong and what can be done to prevent this from happening again. We are currently working on scheduling an operational debrief with management for next week. Stay tuned for an update following the debrief.

AFA Alaska Online Support Center

In the meantime, we encourage Flight Attendants to open a new ticket at the AFA Alaska Online Support Center if you need a union representative to review an issue or concern. Some examples related to the recent snowstorm:

  • Requests for Management Drop denied (or initially approved and subsequently denied) and No Show assessed
  • Day rooms unavailable (for transit time through an outstation exceeding four hours)
  • Delayed layover hotel rooms – AFA will need FAs to provide their release time into the applicable layover and the time when they received a room key
  • Flight Attendants paid for their own rooms either due to snow rooms being unavailable or layover hotel rooms being unavailable

Please provide as many details as possible to help your AFA representatives research your ticket. Thank you!

2026 AFA Board of Directors Convention: What You Need To Know

Next week, our Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers, Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents, and several other LEC Officers, Committee Chairpersons, and Committee Members will attend the 53rd Annual AFA Board of Directors (BOD) Convention in Portland, Oregon. They will join representatives from other AFA airlines to address our Union’s business at the international level. Watch […]

Hawaiian Flight Attendant Seattle Domicile Negotiations – March 2026 Update

Management currently requires Flight Attendants to provide proof of relocation to receive the flat-rate moving expense, a policy that the AFA is formally challenging through the grievance process. While this dispute is ongoing, Flight Attendants able to submit proof of relocation must submit two forms of documentation, such as a lease or updated driver’s license, within 60 days of transfer if they wish to be paid under management’s terms. The union continues to advocate for a fairer process and encourages members to keep records of all related interactions.

Joint Contract Negotiations Session 12 – February 2026

During this negotiation session, we made progress on Sections 15 (Leaves of Absence) and 22 (Expenses). The JNC advocated for positive developments from the Hawaiian CBA to strengthen our proposals. We also introduced our initial proposal for Section 28 (Domiciles) and remain committed to meaningful improvements in all areas of discussion.

Reminder: Don’t Miss Next Week’s MEC Town Hall!

Mark your calendar—Tuesday, March 3, is almost here! There’s still time to register for our Alaska + Hawaiian Town Hall and hear directly from your MEC Officers: MEC President Tim Green, MEC Vice President Brice McGee, and MEC Secretary-Treasurer Paul Ikioka. Join us for the latest updates and get answers to your questions. The Details What […]

Uniform Committee Meeting Recap – 1st Quarter 2026

This message is for pre-merger Alaska Flight Attendants On Thursday, February 19, our AFA Local Uniform Committee Chairpersons met to discuss their ongoing work to represent Flight Attendants and push for improvements in the workplace. Representing you at the meeting were Kim Mazzolini (ANC), Dena Heath (SEA), Bob Moore (PDX), Lisa Mueller (SFO), Heather Holmes […]

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