Alaska Airlines Flights Grounded After IT Outage
Seattle, July 21, 2025 – On Sunday night, Alaska Airlines was forced to ground all flights across its mainline and Horizon Air subsidiary fleet due to a critical IT system failure. The ground stop, which lasted nearly three hours, caused widespread cancellations and delays—especially at the airline’s Seattle–Tacoma hub.
⏰ Timeline of Events
- The outage began around 8:00 p.m. PDT on July 20, triggering a system-wide ground stop.
- All 238 aircraft in Alaska’s and Horizon’s fleet were affected.
- The grounding was lifted by 11:00 p.m. PDT after systems were restored.
- More than 150 flights were canceled, and dozens were delayed into Monday morning.
🛠️ What Caused the Outage?
Alaska Airlines confirmed that the incident was caused by a hardware malfunction at one of its third-party data centers. This disruption impacted essential operational systems, prompting the decision to halt all departures temporarily.
Importantly, the airline emphasized:
- It was not a cyberattack.
- Safety was never compromised.
- They are working with vendors to replace the failed equipment and avoid future incidents.
🙋 Passenger Disruptions
Thousands of passengers experienced delays, missed connections, and long rebooking lines at major airports including Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.
Alaska Airlines issued an apology and encouraged passengers to:
- Check flight status before leaving for the airport.
- Utilize online tools for rebooking and refunds.
- Explore options for meal vouchers or accommodations where applicable.
The airline’s “Care During a Delay” policy provides additional support, depending on the severity and cause of delays.
🔍 Industry Context & Background
This is not Alaska’s first tech-related disruption:
- In April 2024, a malfunction in the weight-and-balance system temporarily halted departures.
- Other airlines like Delta, Southwest, Hawaiian, and WestJet have also recently faced major tech issues.
Experts point out that airlines rely heavily on aging IT infrastructure, and incidents like these highlight the need for modernization and investment in redundancy systems.
Even the FAA suffered a major system outage in 2023, grounding all U.S. flights for hours. These repeated events show that critical infrastructure in aviation needs urgent attention.
✅ Conclusion
The sudden grounding of Alaska Airlines’ entire fleet due to a hardware failure exposed how fragile airline IT systems remain—even for a major carrier. While the issue was not due to hacking, the ripple effects were significant, stranding thousands of passengers and canceling more than 150 flights.
As the airline works to improve its systems, the industry as a whole faces growing pressure to invest in resilient, modern infrastructure to prevent similar failures. Travelers are reminded to always check their flight status, understand their rights, and know that compensation may be available when disruptions occur.
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❓ Top FAQs
❓ Why were Alaska Airlines flights grounded?
A hardware failure at a third-party data center disrupted Alaska’s operational systems, forcing a full ground stop as a safety precaution.
❓ Was it caused by a cyberattack?
No. Alaska Airlines confirmed that the outage was not the result of hacking or malicious activity.
❓ How many flights were affected?
More than 150 flights were canceled, and dozens more were delayed. Disruptions continued into the following day as aircraft and crews were repositioned.
❓ What are passengers entitled to if their flight was canceled?
If your flight was canceled and you chose not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund under U.S. Department of Transportation rules. Alaska Airlines may also offer meal vouchers, hotel accommodations, or rebooking assistance.
❓ Could this happen again?
While Alaska is working to prevent future issues, airline systems remain vulnerable. The event highlights a larger problem across the aviation industry: reliance on outdated IT systems with insufficient backups.
