Alaska Airlines Resumes Flights After Three-Hour IT Outage

Alaska Airlines grounded all of its flights for three hours during an IT outage that began Sunday night and continued into Monday morning. Over 200 aircraft were ordered to remain on the ground while the situation was addressed. Operations have since resumed.

According to Reuters, this marks the second time in the past year the American carrier has had to temporarily stop operations. In April 2024, it also grounded its entire fleet due to an issue with the internal system for calculating aircraft weight and balance. The airline has not specified the cause of the most recent outage, stating only that an issue was detected and a solution has been implemented.

“At approximately 8 p.m. Pacific on July 20, we experienced an IT outage that resulted in a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights,” wrote the airline on a post shared on the social media platform X. “As of 11 p.m. Pacific, the ground stop has been lifted, and our operations have resumed.”

Multiple passengers shared videos and photos on social media showing crowded airport terminals as travelers waited for updates. “Trying to fly back to Austin from Seattle. Sea-Tac is a madhouse right now. Alaska Airlines ground stop,” wrote one user. “These crowds speak for themselves.”

Trying to fly back to Austin from Seattle. Sea-Tac is a madhouse right now. Alaska Airlines ground stop. These crowds speak for themselves. pic.twitter.com/JzQ4YdHF11

— Adam Bennett (@AdamBennettKVUE) July 21, 2025

According to the New York Times, Alaska Airlines’ operational fleet includes 238 Boeing planes and 45 aircraft under its other brand, Horizon Air—both of which were affected by the outage.

Alaska Airlines has more than 44 million customers, and serves over 120 destinations in 5 countries. It’s the fifth-largest airline in the United States.

The incident sparked controversy and tension. In addition to multiple stranded passengers who had to wait hours to resume their flights, recent cyberattacks on other airlines raise concerns about the cause of the Alaska Airlines system failure.

A few weeks ago, Hawaiian Airlines announced that its IT systems had been compromised in a cyberattack, and WestJet also reported a recent IT system breach.