Alaska Airlines grounded all flights late Sunday due to a sudden IT outage affecting operations across its network.
The ground stop—impacting both Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air subsidiary—lasted approximately three hours, with flights resuming around 11 p.m. PT (2 a.m. ET).
Though operational systems have been restored, the airline warns of ongoing delays and cancellations as crews and aircraft are repositioned.
There was some weekend travel turmoil Sunday as Alaska Airlines initiated a system-wide ground stop affecting all flights—both its mainline and regional Horizon Air services—citing a significant IT outage.
The disruption began at approximately 8 p.m. Pacific Time, prompting an immediate halt to departures. By 11 p.m. PT. airline spokespersons confirmed that the issue had been resolved and flights were clearing for takeoff.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged the ground stop but emphasized that no safety issues had been reported. The airline urged customers to check flight status and retain receipts for potential reimbursement of accommodations or other out-of-pocket expenses.
Ripple effects
According to flight-data provider FlightAware, roughly 5% of scheduled flights were canceled on Sunday, and 36% were delayed. Into early Monday morning, an additional 26 flights faced cancellation and 21 more experienced delays.
Passengers reported confusion and frustration, with some stranded on apron-bound aircraft and others facing lengthy queues for customer support. One traveler told Portland's KOIN 6 News: "They just saw a network system error… maybe try the 1‑800 number and see if that helps. And it was a 2.5 hour wait time."
While operations are back online, Alaska Airlines cautions that recovery will be gradual. “As we reposition our aircraft and crews, there will most likely be residual impacts to our flights,” the airline said in a statement.
IT vulnerability
This marks the second grounding of the airline’s fleet in just over a year. In April 2024, a weight-and-balance system malfunction led to another full-ground stop. Last month, Hawaiian Airlines—also part of Alaska Air Group—faced a cybersecurity breach affecting its systems, though flight schedules remained intact.
Alaska Air Group operates 238 Boeing 737s and 87 Embraer 175s. The airline has not determined what specifically triggered this latest outage, but highlighted a broader trend: increased scrutiny around cybersecurity threats in aviation.
Tech companies like Google and Palo Alto Networks have warned about advanced hacking groups targeting airlines, including the notorious “Scattered Spider.” It’s not yet clear whether this grounding is linked to that threat or to some other technical issue.