Alaska Airlines Pilot Walks Off Plane for “Failure to Get Along” with Co-Pilot

On Monday, July 18, 2022, Alaska Airlines flight 1080 from Washington Dulles to San Francisco encountered a longer delay than anticipated following a weather event. Once the flight was cleared to depart after waiting for a storm to pass, a pilot took to the public address system to advise the passengers on board that the plane was returning to the gate because he and his co-pilot “weren’t getting along.” One passenger posted a video of the conclusion of the pilot’s message to passengers on Twitter in which the pilot can be heard saying “we hope you continue to use us in the future. We’ll see you on the next one.”

Video: Twitter @iwillbeamyouup

In the cabin flight attendants and passengers were stunned. Eyewitnesses say flight attendants were in the middle of the aisle performing the safety demonstration when the flight deck door opened and the announcement from the pilot took place. Passengers can be heard shouting “can’t we all just get along?” after the pilots’ message. A subsequent video also shows one pilot walking off the aircraft with his luggage.

Passengers were eventually deplaned following the incident and waited in the terminal until Alaska Airlines worked out the issue. Eventually, a replacement pilot was located, and according to a passenger who posted to Reddit, the pilot was met with “roaring applause” as he approached the gate. Alaska’s flight to Los Angeles, scheduled to depart around the same time, was also delayed and the airline swapped flight deck crews to handle the disagreement.

Alaska Airlines told Insider.com that the captain and first officer had a “professional disagreement.” The airline said “the pilots did the right thing” and they were deemed “fit to fly” after an evaluation.

Pilots at Alaska Airlines have been in dispute with the airline for years now over protracted contract negotiations but things took a turn in May when pilots voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing strike action.

Alaska Airlines offered passengers $175 for the inconvenience.