Alaska Airlines Grounds Entire Fleet Amid Mysterious IT Outage
Alaska Airlines was forced to ground all its flights late Sunday after a major IT failure paralysed its internal systems — the second such incident to hit the US-based carrier in just over a year.
“At approximately 8pm Pacific on Sunday (0300 GMT on Monday), Alaska Airlines experienced an IT outage that’s impacting our operations,” the airline stated. “We requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights.”
The outage triggered an immediate halt to operations across both Alaska Airlines and its regional sister airline, Horizon Air. While the company confirmed widespread disruptions, it has yet to clarify what caused the glitch.
No word yet from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), though its online dashboard listed all destinations impacted by the stoppage. Horizon’s entire schedule was reportedly suspended.
Frustration simmered among passengers, with no clear timeline given for the resumption of normal services. “Residual impacts” are expected through the evening, the airline noted vaguely.
This isn’t the first time Alaska has faced such turmoil. Back in April 2024, the entire fleet was grounded due to a system flaw affecting plane weight and balance calculations.
That incident followed a shocking midair event just months prior, when a door panel detached from a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet — operated by Alaska Airlines — triggering worldwide concern.
Alaska Air Group, the parent company, operates 238 Boeing 737s and 87 Embraer 175s, according to its own figures. The group has faced increasing digital threats this year, including a June cyberattack that hit Hawaiian Airlines, another of its subsidiaries.
The aviation sector, it seems, is becoming an attractive target for hackers. Recent alerts from tech firms like Google and Palo Alto Networks have flagged the emergence of the Scattered Spider hacking group, known to be probing vulnerabilities in airlines and aviation systems.
In recent months, cyber breaches have rattled several carriers globally. Canada’s WestJet fell victim to an undisclosed cyber incident in June. Australia’s Qantas, too, suffered a major breach in July, exposing the personal data of millions.
Now, questions swirl around whether the Alaska outage is tied to ongoing cyber threats. Microsoft, on the same day, had issued a warning about “active attacks” targeting server software used by government and corporate sectors.
When asked if their own outage could be linked, Alaska remained silent. The airline has not responded to further media inquiries.
For now, passengers are left grounded, and the broader aviation world watches closely — as digital threats creep ever closer to the skies.
