Alaska Airlines issues ground stop in Seattle after tech problem causes ‘significant disruption’

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Alaska Airlines issues ground stop in Seattle after tech problem causes ‘significant disruption’ Taylor Soper
An Alaska Airlines plane at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Alaska Airlines experienced a “significant IT outage” on Sunday evening that delayed flights and forced it to request a ground stop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The Seattle-based airline first noted the outage around 8 p.m. PT in response to messages on X.

In a statement to GeekWire just after 10 p.m., the company said the outage was fixed.

“Earlier this evening we experienced an IT issue that caused significant disruption to our operation — including delayed flights,” the company said. “We also requested a ground stop at SEA so we could clear the aircraft congestion on the ground. The issue has been resolved, but we expect residual impacts to our operation. We sincerely apologize to our guests who are impacted and are working to get all our guests to their destinations.”

A ground stop is used to slow or halt air traffic at an airport.

Alaska described the problem as a “certificate issue that impacted multiple systems.” The outage was not due to a cyberattack or unauthorized activity, the company told GeekWire.

The issue seemed to affect Alaska flights beyond Seattle. One user said their flight from San Francisco to Portland was “stuck on tarmac as planes at the gate are grounded here.”

Another said their flight to Seattle was canceled.

The outage also affected Alaska’s app and mobile check-in process, according to some users.

Alaska grounded flights nationwide in April due to a tech issue related to a system that calculates weight and balance.

Alaska previously dealt with tech-related outages in 2011 and 2012.

The Port of Seattle was hit with a ransomware attack last month that impacted the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

https://ift.tt/C3TkGFl September 23, 2024 at 05:19AM GeekWire
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