Alaska Airlines was forced to ground all its flights on Sunday evening following an unspecified IT outage that disrupted key operational systems, the carrier confirmed. This marks the second time in a little over a year that the airline has been compelled to halt its entire fleet.
In a statement released late on Sunday, the Seattle-based airline said: “At approximately 8pm Pacific on Sunday (0300 GMT on Monday), Alaska Airlines experienced an IT outage that’s impacting our operations. We requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights.”
The airline warned of lingering disruption to flight schedules throughout the evening but declined to provide further detail regarding the root cause of the outage.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has yet to comment on the incident. However, its status page indicated that all destinations had been affected by the ground stop involving Alaska’s mainline aircraft, while operations of its regional partner Horizon Air were suspended.
The timing and nature of the outage have raised questions, particularly in light of recent cybersecurity concerns in the aviation sector. In April 2024, Alaska Airlines grounded its entire fleet due to a fault in the system used to calculate aircraft weight and balance, just months after a door panel detached mid-flight from a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by the airline.
Alaska Air Group currently operates a fleet of 238 Boeing 737 aircraft and 87 Embraer 175 aircraft, according to its official website.
In June, Hawaiian Airlines, also owned by Alaska Air Group, reported that some of its IT systems had been compromised in a cyberattack. The group has yet to disclose the financial impact of that breach.
The latest disruption comes amid broader concerns about cyber threats to the aviation industry. Tech firms including Google and Palo Alto Networks recently warned about the “Scattered Spider” hacking group’s focus on the sector. Canada’s WestJet Airlines was hit by an unspecified cyber incident in June, while Australia’s Qantas suffered a data breach in July that compromised the personal data of millions of customers.
It remains unclear whether Alaska’s outage is connected to a separate cybersecurity threat, as Microsoft warned on Sunday of “active attacks” targeting its server software used by governments and major businesses.
Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to enquiries regarding a possible link between its outage and Microsoft’s announcement.
Passengers are advised to check the airline’s website or contact customer service for the latest travel updates.
