Alaska Airlines resumes mainline operations after IT outage that halted all flights

Alaska Airlines faced a major computer problem on Sunday evening that forced the company to stop all its flights for three hours, ABC News reported, due to the significant impact on airline operations. The trouble started around 8 p.m. PST when the airline's computer systems stopped working properly. Alaska Airlines quickly asked aviation officials to ground all their planes and those of their partner company Horizon Air until they could fix the problem. The airline managed to get everything working again by 11 p.m. that same night, but the damage was already done.

Company officials explained that passengers should expect more delays and problems throughout the evening as they worked to get planes and crew members back to their correct positions. The next day, Alaska Airlines made it clear that this was not caused by hackers or any security attack, according to ABC News coverage of the incident. Instead, they said an important piece of equipment made by another company had broken down unexpectedly, which caused several key systems to fail at once.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that Alaska Airlines had lifted the ground stop for all its main aircraft by 11 p.m. local time, FOX Business documented in their reporting on the widespread flight disruptions. During the three-hour period when no planes could take off, crowds of frustrated passengers gathered at Seattle-Tacoma Airport waiting for updates about their flights. The airline's website displayed a message telling customers they were having computer system troubles and were working to fix them as quickly as possible.

Alaska Airlines spokespersons told the media that while operations had resumed, it would take considerable time to get everything back to normal because planes and flight crews needed to be moved to their proper locations. The ground stop affected all destinations that Alaska Airlines serves, making it a nationwide problem rather than just a local issue. FOX Business noted that passengers were strongly advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport since many flights would still face delays and changes even after the computer systems were restored.

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The aftermath of the computer failure has been severe for thousands of travelers, with King 5 reporting that nearly 200 flights were canceled in less than 24 hours after the outage began. About 13,500 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted since Sunday evening, creating long lines and frustrated crowds at airports across the country. Travelers shared their difficult experiences, with one passenger describing waiting five hours only to have his flight canceled, followed by standing in a seven-hour line the next morning just to try to rebook. Another traveler attempting to get from Alaska to Florida explained the exhausting process of dealing with canceled flights and trying to retrieve luggage while hoping to eventually reach home.

The ripple effects continued well into Monday as the airline worked to reposition aircraft and crew members to their correct locations. King 5 emphasized that passengers experienced significant emotional stress, with some calling it one of the worst travel experiences of their lives due to exhaustion and uncertainty about when they would reach their destinations.