Alaska

‘SNL’ pokes fun at Alaska Airlines following midair blowout

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2024

‘SNL’ pokes fun at Alaska Airlines following midair blowout

“Saturday Night Live” returned from its winter hiatus and poked fun at Alaska Airlines’ response to its recent flight that experienced a panel blowout mid-flight over Oregon earlier this month.

During the first episode of the new year, “SNL” aired a mock commercial for the airline, starring Heidi Gardner, Jacob Elordi and Kenan Thompson, sharing the company’s new slogan and marketing campaign following the near-catastrophic incident two weeks ago.

“Alaska Airlines, you didn’t die and you got a cool story,” Gardner says.

“On other airlines, you can watch movies, but on Alaska, you’re in the movie,” host Elordi said before a dramatic reenactment of the Ontario, California-bound flight was shown with screaming passengers and a door size hole on the left side of the fuselage.

The Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed from from Portland International Airport at 4:52 p.m. on January 6 but returned only 35 minutes later when it suffered depressurization in after the side panel ripped off from the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet.

During the frightening flight, passengers lost their phones while a small boy, sitting near the opening had to be held by his mother as the force of the wind ripped his shirt off.

Luckily, only one person was injured.

“Since the incident, we’re starting to make some changes,” Thompson said.

“You know those bolts that like hold the plane together? We’re gonna go ahead and tighten some of those,” the “Saltburn” star said referencing the Airline’s inspection of its equipment following the incident.

Days after grounding it’s fleet of MAX 9 jets, the airline announced it’s preliminary inspections yielded the discovery of “some loose hardware” was discovered by technicians on some aircrafts.

“When people ask me where the emergency exits are, I’m like there, there, and in 10 minutes probably there,” Thompson added pointing to a window seat in a plane’s cabin.

Some of the new safety features in the faux-ad included an updated safety brochure the size of a dictionary, the emergency slide being deployed before take-off, and life jackets being handed to passengers as they deboard the plane, mocking Hawaii Airlines’ similar gesture with leis.

“Are we in Cleveland,” one “passenger’ asked cast member Michael Longfellow who was performing as a flight attendant.

“Close, the Pacific Ocean,” Longfellow answered while affixing the life vest.

“We’re the same airline where a pilot tried to turn off the engine mid-flight, while on mushrooms,” Thompson said. “And now we are so proud to say, that’s our second worst flight.”

The comedian was referencing the Oct. 2023 incident where off-duty worker Joseph Emmerson “mental breakdown” while on the psychedelic drug and attempted to crash a San Francisco-bound flight.

“Alaska Airlines, still better than Spirit,” a narration said as the clip faded to black.

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Alaska

First alerts remain for: high winds, snow & rain

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2025

Press Room

First alerts remain for: high winds, snow & rain

ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) –

Alaska’s Weather Source is continuing the First Alerts for sections of southcentral and most of southeast Alaska Sunday night to Monday.

High wind warnings are still in effect for the Matanuska Valley’s Palmer-Wasilla area. Winds gusted to 83 mph in Palmer Sunday afternoon, with an 80 mph gust on the Glenn highway where it veers to the Parks highway to Wasilla. Northeast winds 35 to 50 mph, with gusts between 75 and 80 mph are still expected Sunday into Monday. The high wind warning is set to expire at 9 pm Monday.

Valdez and the Thompson Pass area are also under a High Wind Warning through noon Monday. Valdez, the town could see east winds 30, gusting to 65 mph and Thompson pass saw a 76 mph gust Sunday, but the wind could still gust to 80 mph.

Deep cold continues to grip interior Alaska, where low temperatures will drop to the 30s to 40s below zero. Daytime highs are going to be in the minus 20s range. This is the kind of cold that can cause human and mechanical issues. Take precautions in clothing, and plug in vehicles when possible.

And the First Alert extends to Monday in southeast Alaska. The region is getting slogged by snow, and rain! Hoonah as of Sunday, reported 36 inches, or 3 feet of snow! Amounts ranged from 18 to 31 from Juneau to Douglas and Auke Bay. Yakutat hit 23 inches Sunday with additional heavy amounts to come. Winter storm warnings encompass the northern Gulf of Alaska, northern panhandle and through Juneau. The southern end of the region will see rain, heavy at times. This has resulted in a flood watch that will extend into Monday as well.

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Alaska

Snow in Southeast Alaska leads to road, building closures

Published

6 days ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Snow in Southeast Alaska leads to road, building closures

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Snow in Southeast is leading to closures in the Juneau area and beyond.

The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) said online that CBJ facilities and services are closed or have limited operations Sunday “due to the severe winter weather in Juneau.”

It said all Juneau Public libraries and Juneau Parks & Recreation facilities are closed, but the Shéiyi X̱aat Hit Youth Shelter is still open.

Capital Transit is using its winter routes, the CBJ said. And multiple routes are not running.

And Fish Creek Road, which is the access point for Eaglecrest Ski Area, is closed, leading to the ski area closing as well.

“Due to the amount of snow that has fallen CBJ needs to keep essential roads clear and accessible for emergency services. Fish Creek Road is currently a lower-priority road for snow removal. With Fish Creek Road closed and access to the mountain unavailable, our ski area will be closed today 12/28/25. Guest safety is our number one priority,” the ski area wrote online.

Around noon Sunday, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Alaska 511 page has multiple roads in the area listed as “very difficult” road conditions, including parts of the Douglas and Glacier Highways.

Further north, Haines Road is listed as “very difficult.” And the Klondike Highway leading in and out of Skagway is closed. DOT said it is “due to blizzard conditions and an elevated avalanche hazard.”

The road will stay closed overnight and DOT plans to assess the conditions Monday morning.

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Alaska

Flu ‘increased notably’ in Alaska in last month, AK Dept. of Health says

Published

7 days ago

December 28, 2025

Press Room

Flu ‘increased notably’ in Alaska in last month, AK Dept. of Health says

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – New data shows the number of confirmed Alaska flu cases more than doubled from the last report, according to the Alaska Department of Health (DOH) snapshot data for the week of Dec. 20.

Flu cases have been on the rise since mid-November, according to the updated Alaska Department of Health Respiratory Virus Snapshot published Dec. 20, 2025. This December update saw the largest jump in cases since the increase started, going from 391 lab-confirmed cases the week of Dec. 13 to 816 the week of Dec. 20.

It’s quite a rise from the same time last year, which reported only 108 lab-confirmed cases in the week of Dec. 21, 2024, but the next week, which had the reporting date of Dec. 28, 2024, saw a jump in cases to 484.

And this past week’s numbers rivals the 2025 peak at 990 cases reported March 1, 2025, according to the DOH.

The highest spike of influenza cases reported over the past five years was on Dec. 13, 2022, with 1,621 cases reported that week.

The state reported in the Alaska Influenza Surveillance Summary that last year Alaska saw a “higher number of reported cases than in previous years, with activity more concentrated in a pronounced peak.”

A national trend

The CDC said the flu season is just starting and is potentially gearing up to be substantial.

“I don’t think I ever remember seeing it this severe, this soon,” Dr. Suchitra Rao, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, told NBC News. “Our emergency department is full of kids coming in with the flu.”

The CDC said the flu is increasing across the country, but that the timing “is similar to several past seasons.”

The CDC estimates during this season there have been 4.6 million flu cases, 49,000 hospitalizations (a little over 1% of cases) and 1,900 deaths.

Those numbers also rival data from last year, where the CDC estimated 5.3 million cases, 63,000 hospitalizations and 2,700 deaths.

COVID-19 & RSV

The flu is not the only respiratory virus the state is tracking.

As of the latest Department of Health snapshot, 50 cases of COVID-19 were reported have been reported for the week of Dec. 20, a drop from last year’s report of 82 cases during the same time period, the DOH reported.

RSV cases are also lower than previous years right now.

During the week of Dec. 20, 75 cases of RSV were reported, which is much less than the 266 reported cases the same time last year, according to the DOH.

Data over the past five years from the Department of Health shows the months between December and March are when RSV is most active in Alaska, peaking between the last weeks of December to the first weeks of January.

How to stay healthy

The CDC lists several ways to help prevent spreading or catching the flu, but said the “single best way to reduce the risk of seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is to get vaccinated each year.”

While data from the CDC shows getting vaccinated could decrease a visit to the doctor by 40 to 60%, it doesn’t mean you won’t get sick.

This makes strategies that protect yourself and others from spreading germs all the more important.

Tips from the CDC include: avoiding close contact, staying home if sick, covering mouth and nose (even if not sick), washing hands, avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth, taking steps for cleaner air and practicing good hygiene.

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