Jetway blow causes long SeaTac delay

SEATTLE – An Alaska Airlines flight to California was delayed more than three hours Saturday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when a jetway rose 6 to 12 inches and scraped the body of the aircraft, an airline spokesman said.

The device damaged the paint and left a shallow crease in the skin of the MD-80, and maintenance personnel decided to take the plane out of operation, said airline spokesman Paul McElroy. There were no injuries.

The 60 passengers who had boarded left the aircraft to wait for another plane, he said. The damaged plane was taken to an on-site maintenance hangar.

Alaska did not have a spare plane at the airport at the time, but when one became available a few hours later, the 120 passengers on Flight 464 proceeded to Ontario, Calif., near Los Angeles. They arrived at their destination about three hours and 20 minutes late, McElroy said.

The airline and the Port of Seattle are working to determine what caused the jetway to rise, McElroy said.