Alaska Airlines Ground Stop: Late on Sunday night, approximately 8 p.m. PT, Alaska Airlines suspended all flights — including regional Horizon Air flights — due to a serious IT systems outage. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the airline ground-stopped all flights because of the systems issues. As the airline is working to restore the systems, passengers are trapped at hubs like SeaTac and San Francisco with lengthy delays
Why This is a Big Deal When Airlines IT Systems Fail
This is not just a slow day at the airline. When airlines IT systems fail:
- Booking and ticketing portals freeze
- Boarding passes cannot be scanned
- Baggage tracking systems fail
That means that every aspect of your travel collapses, causing hectic situations for massive amounts of guests. Alaska has 238 -737s and 87 -175s. That’s a large interruption.
Is this a Cyber Attack or an Internal Failure?
Currently, no indication of hacking. Alaska Airlines said it was an isolated “IT outage” without additional detail.
Analysts also observed that the airline was recently a victim to a cyber incident with Hawaiian Airlines – owned by the same parent company. So is there a bigger systems issue across the airline and their the parent company? It is too early to tell.
What You Should Do If You’re Flying
If you have a flight coming up very shortly, it is important to:
- Check your flight status before arriving at the airport. You will have updates online.
- Be prepared for questionable doors being closed, or flights maybe delayed or canceled.
- Document your delay. Multiple customers have successfully obtained vouchers, rebates, or refunds from airlines after a long disruption.
- Ask for help: Ukrainian Airlines and Delta’s procedures mean that airlines often provide meals or hotel accommodations. Even if they have systems working again, it could take some time for them to rebook travelers. Use your initiative and be persistent.
Insider Insight: Why Full Fleet Stops Happen
Full ground stops across all flights are a big deal for an airline but are not uncommon. That is to say,
- Important systems were down. It is possible the system that the platform delivers pilots for their flight information or aircraft readiness pushed for a stop.
- The backup fail-safe could not swoop on something bigger, and while airlines such as Alaska are large they are not as big and robust as other airlines, and they had the same fail-safe. Alaska’s outreach is cause for concern for their flight operations team and beyond.
Alaska Airlines Grounding and Microsoft Hack: Analyst Warns of AI Conflict
In a fast-moving tweet, commentator Chase Geiser (@realchasegeiser) has sounded the alarm on what he believes may be the start of the “AI Wars.” Geiser points to a number of troubling events that seem to be coming together to form a larger cybersecurity incident. The main incident he cites is the Microsoft product hack that he claims affected systems used by U.S. state agencies.
Geiser also connects the hack to the recent mass grounding of Alaska Airlines flights as a possible coordinated cyberattack. Geiser also notes a pattern of aviation-related anomalies including the still unexplained F-35 stealth jet event, a previous crash also involving Alaska Airlines, and an engine fire that broke out today during the takeoff of a Delta flight.
The tweet contains evidence in the form of a screenshot of the Microsoft hack report, and a video of the Delta engine fire. Although Geiser is still in the realm of speculation and there has been no official verification of his claims, he raises some important questions about a world that is increasingly vulnerable to insecure aviation and tech systems in a connected and AI-enabled world.
Past Outages Offer Context
- For context, in January 2023 the FAA had a NOTAM system collapse that grounded flights across America for hours. Thousands of flights were impacted.
- Also, last year we had an outstanding CrowdStrike/Microsoft outage where airlines around the world experienced a significant disruption, and thousands of flights were grounded.
All things considered, while Alaska’s outage is not any of those two examples, it does represent a significant fire alarm for their systems team.
Airline and FAA Response
Alaska Airlines published an apology on its website:
“We’re experiencing issues with our IT systems. We apologize and are working to resolve this.”
Business Insider
The FAA confirmed the ground stop on its status page. As of midnight PT, both Alaska and FAA said operations would take hours to return to normal.
What Are People Saying?
@simplemellie wrote on X:
“I was just watching the first final destination too…”
What’s Next?
Alaska’s IT guys are doing work all night. The reality is travel for passengers on the ground impacts Alaska Airlines today too. In many ways, with the systems back online, a regular recovery would look like:
- 1-3 hours for the system roll out
- 6-12 hours to sort through the backlog of flights
- Expect possibly ripple effect into flights for Monday
If you’re traveling soon keep an eye on updates and make plans for a back up option.
Why This Outage Matters to You
- For travelers: This serves as a reminder; airlines are very much dependent in technology – not just aircraft.
- For Alaska Airlines: Unfortunately their brand takes a hit, we all expect experiences to be seamless.
- For regulators: This may cause FAA to think about how airlines look at IT risk going forward.
An episode like this shows how vulnerable travel can be – even at a big airline.
Final Thoughts
Travel can be uncomfortable when it depends on technology that could let them down. Alaska Airlines’ outage should remind all of us that no system is unbreakable. So for travelers, vigilance; for airlines, resilience; and for regulators, keep pressing the airlines on backup plans so we don’t run out of options in the air again.
FAQs
What caused the Alaska flight cancellation?
An IT systems technology failure in Alaska at 8 p.m. PT prompted a ground stop for the entire fleet of Alaska Airlines and Alaskas’ regional rights flights.
How many flight delays or cancellations?
Not yet known. Given that there are hundreds of jets grounded, many flights will be delayed or cancelled through the night.
Will Alaska Airlines provide any compensation for affected passengers?
Possibly. U.S. regulations do not automatically cover delays, however, many airlines provide compensation or vouchers, meals and occasionally refunds based on time spent and disruption to travel.
Are Horizon Air flights affected?
Yes. Horizon Air, the regional airline that operates the regional rights of Alaska Airlines, are also included in the ground stop.
Will flights resume tomorrow?
Alaska Airlines is working restore the systems overnight. Even if systems are back, travel may be disrupted into Monday as they manage a backlog.
Is this outage related to the Hawaiian hack in June?
Unknown. The tech breakdowns are both AT Group airlines, however, Alaska has not confirmed anything connected yet.
Have other airlines faced similar stops recently?
Yes. FAA’s NOTAM outage in January 2023 and a 2024 CrowdStrike/Microsoft failure both grounded numerous flights worldwide.
Does the FAA require airlines to ground flights during outages?
Yes. If a technology system major failure occurs and no longer provides a safe operating environment, airlines must contact the FAA for a ground halt until technology is resolved.
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