Alaska Airlines Grounds Flights Temporarily As IT Issue Disrupts Website Operations On Cyber Monday

Alaska Airlines’ operations were hit on Monday following tech issues that affected its website as well as flights out of Seattle. The airline was previously hit by IT issues in September and is one of many carriers that have gone through similar problems in recent times.

Tech issues

Alaska Airlines had issues with its website and operations on Monday. The carrier hosted its Cyber Monday flight sale, but soon after that, users started reporting issues with the airline’s website and app.

Many complained about missing their flights and delays in their service. The carrier displayed a message on its website highlighting the issues it was facing with flight bookings on its website, app, or contact center.

But the problem went beyond that. Alaska Airlines struggled to maintain smooth operations out of its primary hub at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The tech issue resulted in massive disruption of its services and that forced the airline to issue a temporary ground stop at Seattle airport to clear the congestion.

Simple Flying has contacted Alaska Airlines for comments.

Previous ground stop

Alaska Airlines faced a similar problem in September this year when it had to request a ground stop for its operations out of Seattle. Delays for departing flights averaged 45 minutes, and 94% of the carrier’s departing flights out of Seattle were delayed.

The IT outage, which took place on September 22, lasted a few hours and affected all Alaska Airlines flights and its regional affiliates’ flights until 21:53, when the FAA canceled the ground stop order.

Challenges with technology

The latest issue with Alaska Airlines highlights that airline operations around the world are prone to being disrupted, sometimes majorly, due to various tech issues. This can sometimes affect one airline or airport or can snowball into a global problem, which happened in July this year.

An unprecedented IT outage on July 19 forced the cancelation of more than 6,500 flights globally. News of airlines losing communications first started trickling in from the United States, but soon, it was clear that the issue was much larger than previously anticipated.

Airports and airlines in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and India, among others, faced severe disruptions. Airlines reported long queues and slower check-ins at airports, and some, like IndiGo, also asked travelers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to refrain from making multiple bookings.

In September, flights at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) were affected after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suffered equipment complications. Dozens of inbound flights had to be diverted, while almost 250 flights out of the airport were delayed.

In August, the Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), experienced a system outage for multiple consecutive days, and a possible cyberattack angle was also being explored.

In November, British Airways faced an IT issue resulting in a loss of communication with its pilots and significant operational disruption. The airline’s pilots across multiple locations within and outside the United Kingdom reported having trouble establishing communications with the BA operations center and the airline was forced to delay many of its flights.