Alaska Airlines Flights Resume After System Outage
SEATTLE, July 21 — Alaska Airlines and its regional partner Horizon Air temporarily grounded all flights on Sunday evening due to a widespread IT outage, the airline confirmed. The system-wide ground stop began around 8 p.m. Pacific Time (0300 GMT Monday) and was lifted by 11 p.m.
“As we reposition our aircraft and crews, there will most likely be residual impacts to our flights. It will take some time to get our overall operations back to normal,” the Seattle-based carrier stated.
The airline has not disclosed the specific cause of the outage, but this is the second major disruption in recent months. In April 2024, Alaska grounded its entire fleet due to issues with its weight and balance calculation systems.
Alaska Air Group, the parent company, operates 238 Boeing 737s and 87 Embraer 175 aircraft. The airline has also faced cybersecurity concerns. In June, its subsidiary Hawaiian Airlines suffered an IT breach, and the financial toll of that incident is still under review.
The latest disruption comes amid growing cybersecurity threats targeting the aviation industry. Tech giants Google and Palo Alto Networks recently flagged the hacking group “Scattered Spider” for its activity against aviation networks. Other airlines, including Canada’s WestJet and Australia’s Qantas, also experienced cyber incidents in recent months—though without direct impact on flight operations.
Meanwhile, Microsoft reported ongoing attacks on its server software used by governments and businesses. Alaska Airlines has not confirmed whether Sunday’s outage is linked to the Microsoft-related cyber threats.
The airline has yet to respond to further inquiries. Travelers are advised to check with the carrier for updates on delays and cancellations.
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