Too heavy to take off: Flights from Spokane International will be taking off with dozens of empty seats for a week in July — even if there are people willing to buy them. Is it more of the major airlines' crazy, money-losing strategies? No, just runway construction. About one-third of Spokane's main runway will be resurfaced between July 12 and July 20, meaning aircraft will have less runway to use for takeoff. That also means those planes must be lighter. Airlines that serve longer routes will have to leave dozens of seats empty, reports The AP. Southwest, the airport's top airline, says it expected little impact on its flights. Alaska Airline doesn't foresee problems on flights to Seattle from Spokane, but says it will only be able to sell 94 seats on its 138-seat jets for flights to Los Angeles.