Alaska Airlines late Saturday night resumed flight operations after a major IT outage forced the airline to ground all mainline and regional flights for several hours. The ground stop, requested by the airline and implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), led to significant disruptions across airports in the U.S., with passengers stranded and multiple flights delayed or canceled.
The issue began around 8:00 PM Pacific Time when Alaska Airlines reported a failure in its internal systems, affecting aircraft dispatch, crew management, and operational coordination. Following the outage, the airline asked the FAA to implement a full ground stop, halting departures of all Alaska and Horizon Air flights to prevent further complications.
By 11:00 PM, the FAA confirmed that the ground stop had been lifted, and flights gradually began to resume. However, Alaska Airlines warned passengers that disruptions would continue into Sunday as the airline worked to reposition aircraft and crew members. Passengers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport and to be prepared for delays or cancellations.
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An Alaska Airlines aircraft in flight. The airline temporarily grounded its entire fleet on July 20, 2025, due to a major IT systems outage before resuming operations later that night.
This incident marks the second major system failure for Alaska Airlines in just over a year. In April 2024, the airline grounded its fleet due to issues related to its weight and balance system. In January of the same year, an Alaska flight suffered a mid-air emergency after a door panel detached mid-flight. While that incident was mechanical in nature, the latest disruption underscores the increasing dependence of modern airlines on robust IT infrastructure.
Although Alaska Airlines did not immediately confirm whether the outage was linked to a cyberattack, the timing and nature of the failure have raised questions. The airline's sister company, Hawaiian Airlines, was impacted by a cyber incident earlier this year, and cybersecurity experts have recently warned that airlines are becoming high-value targets for hackers. Groups such as "Scattered Spider" have reportedly been probing airline systems for vulnerabilities in recent months.
The outage affected not just Alaska's own network, but also caused a ripple effect at major hubs like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Portland International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport, where Alaska has significant operations. Passengers reported long lines, limited communication, and confusion over rebookings. The airline urged affected travelers to retain receipts for accommodation or alternate transport, indicating that reimbursements may be provided.
Alaska Airlines released a statement expressing regret for the disruption and assured that teams were working around the clock to identify the root cause and prevent a recurrence. “Safety is always our top priority, and we made the difficult but necessary decision to pause operations to avoid compounding the issue,” the airline said.
The FAA, which rarely enforces airline-wide ground stops except in cases of severe weather or national emergencies, is expected to coordinate with Alaska Airlines during its internal investigation. Analysts believe the agency may also review the airline’s IT infrastructure and business continuity protocols.
This incident comes at a time when the U.S. aviation industry is already facing increased scrutiny over safety and reliability. Following the high-profile Boeing manufacturing concerns and global reports of system vulnerabilities, Saturday night’s grounding has once again raised alarms over the fragility of airline tech systems and the need for robust fail-safes.
With travel demand soaring during the summer season, the outage could not have come at a worse time for passengers. Travelers are now urging airlines and regulators to invest more in cyber resilience and real-time crisis response systems. As for Alaska Airlines, it faces the dual challenge of restoring customer trust while addressing deep technical vulnerabilities that have now been exposed twice in less than 18 months.
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