Alaska Airways Grounds All Flights Nationwide After Tech Outage

Alaska Airways mentioned it had grounded all flights throughout the US on Thursday night after a tech outage disrupted its operations — the second main IT failure to hit the service this 12 months.

The Federal Aviation Administration mentioned the service additionally requested a greater than two-hour floor cease for its subsidiary, Horizon Air.

“Alaska Airways is experiencing an IT outage affecting operations. A brief floor cease is in place. We apologize for the inconvenience,” Alaska Airways mentioned in an announcement on social media.

The airline suggested prospects to examine their flight standing earlier than heading to the airport in the event that they’re scheduled to fly on Thursday night time.

In response to Enterprise Insider, Alaska Airways mentioned in an announcement that the outage started about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, following a failure at its major information heart.

“The IT outage has impacted a number of of our key programs that allow us to run varied operations, necessitating the implementation of the bottom cease to maintain our plane in place,” the airline mentioned, including that flight security was by no means compromised.

The corporate additionally mentioned the problem didn’t have an effect on Hawaiian Airways flights and that the outage was not a cybersecurity incident.

At press time, a discover on the airline’s web site mentioned it is providing a “versatile” journey coverage for patrons who need to change or cancel their flights as a result of outage.

It applies to tickets bought on or earlier than Thursday with unique journey dates from Thursday to Friday. Vacationers can rebook for brand spanking new flights between Thursday and Monday.

Alaska Airways’ major hub is on the West Coast, and it serves greater than 140 locations throughout 37 states and 12 nations. Its mum or dad firm, Alaska Air Group, employs over 30,000 individuals.

Prospects took to social media to report points accessing the airline’s web site and cellular app.

“Sadly, we’re experiencing an error on our system, however our IT workforce is working to get this resolved as quickly as doable,” Alaska Airways mentioned in response to an X person who mentioned she skilled points with the airline’s app.

The outage comes simply as Alaska Air reported quarterly earnings this week, exhibiting {that a} earlier IT meltdown in July had harm its outcomes.

In its third-quarter report launched Thursday, Alaska Air mentioned greater gas and non-fuel value strain ensuing from an IT outage in July pressured it to decrease its full-year revenue outlook.

The service reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share for the quarter, lacking analysts’ common estimate of $1.13 apiece.

Representatives for Alaska Airways didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Enterprise Insider.