Alaska Airlines was forced to ground all its flights on Sunday evening following a major IT outage that disrupted its operational systems, the airline confirmed in a statement. The outage, which began around 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time (0300 GMT Monday), prompted a system-wide ground stop affecting both Alaska Airlines and its regional partner, Horizon Air.
The Seattle-based carrier did not disclose the exact cause of the outage but acknowledged that the issue had significantly impacted its operations. “We requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights,” the airline said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not issued a public response to the incident as of Monday morning, and its online status dashboard showed all destinations affected by the ground stop.
Alaska Airlines warned of “residual impacts” throughout the evening and possibly beyond, indicating ongoing delays or cancellations as it works to restore services. No timeline was provided for a full return to normal operations.
Alaska Air Group operates a fleet of 238 Boeing 737 aircraft and 87 Embraer 175 regional jets, making it one of the largest carriers on the U.S. West Coast. The IT disruption raises further concerns after a string of tech-related issues in the aviation industry.
Just last month, Hawaiian Airlines, also owned by Alaska Air Group, reported that some of its IT systems had been compromised in a cyberattack. Alaska said it was still assessing the financial impact of that earlier incident.
As travel demand surges during the busy summer season, the latest outage underscores growing vulnerabilities in airline IT infrastructure. Passengers were advised to check flight statuses online and remain patient as the airline works to resolve the issue and resume operations safely.
Written By Rodney Mbua
