Four flight attendants fell ill on Thursday’s Alaska Airlines Flight from Kauai to Seattle. The sickness was severe enough for the flight to divert to Honolulu. After landing, all four female flight attendants were taken to the hospital.

The diversion

September 12th’s Alaska Airlines
Flight 810, which flies nonstop from Lihue Airport (LIH) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
using a Boeing 737-800
twinjet, had to divert to Honolulu International Airport
(HNL) after four flight attendants felt severely ill.

Alaska Airlines Flight 810 flight path

Photo: Flight Aware

According to Hawaii News Now, the four female flight attendants, aged 28, 31, 53, and 59, felt nauseous and had disturbed coordination, which prevented them from safely carrying out their responsibilities. The flight attendants were fine when they boarded the plane, but after takeoff, an unknown smell in the cabin caused them to become ill.

According to data from Flight Aware, the aircraft left the gate one hour and 13 minutes late. 34 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft began its diversion to HNL and landed at the airport safely 49 minutes later.

There were 119 passengers and six crew members, including two flight crew. Only the four flight attendants fell ill, and no pilots or passengers exhibited symptoms.

The aircraft departed to SEA without any passengers onboard for additional inspection. The airline said in a statement that it was working to rebook passengers on Friday’s flight to SEA. Simple Flying has contacted Alaska Airlines to request a statement regarding the incident.

Odor onboard

This is the second time an odor onboard a Boeing 737-800 recently caused a diversion. Roughly a month ago, an American Airlines flight had to divert to Charlotte after an unknown odor worried passengers and crew.

alaska airlines SEA

Photo: Wangkun Jia | Shutterstock

In the case of the Alaska Airlines flight, the odor probably originated from the galley area, which would explain why only the flight attendants were affected. Unlike last month’s diversion, an emergency was not declared, and the odor didn’t permeate through the cabin, as no passengers were affected. Unfortunately, we don’t know what caused the odor or what type of emission caused the health problems.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines was founded in 1932, 92 years ago. It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and operates mainly out of SEA with hubs in Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Franciso. It is considered one of the best traditional airlines in the US. It’s awaiting approval from the US Department of Transportation to merge with Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal.

N551AS Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 (1)-1

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

According to data from ch-aviation, Alaska Airlines operates a fleet of 242 Boeing 737
variants, including the NG (700, 800, 900) and MAX (8, 9) models, with another 70 aircraft on the way. The average age of the Boeing 737-800 models is 16.5 years.

The airline’s aircraft maintenance is contracted out to American Airlines MRO subsidiary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for heavy overhaul work. Less intensive maintenance is done at the main base in Seattle, which is why the aircraft flew back to SEA without passengers onboard.

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