Seattle, WA – October 24, 2025
In a dramatic escalation of operational woes, Alaska Airlines was forced to implement a nationwide ground stop on all its flights Thursday evening, halting operations across the United States and leaving tens of thousands of passengers in limbo. The disruption, attributed to a widespread information technology (IT) outage, marks the second such crisis for the Seattle-based carrier in less than three months, raising fresh questions about the reliability of its digital infrastructure amid a year of heightened aviation vulnerabilities.
The outage struck around 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time, originating from a failure at the airline's primary data center, according to a statement from spokesperson Tim Thompson. Within the hour, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop at the airline's request, effectively freezing departures for Alaska Airlines' mainline fleet and its regional subsidiary, Horizon Air. Hawaiian Airlines, which operates under the broader Alaska Air Group umbrella following a 2024 merger, remained unaffected, allowing its flights to continue uninterrupted.
"Alaska Airlines is experiencing an IT outage affecting operations. A temporary ground stop is in place," the airline announced via its official X account (@AlaskaAirNews) at 4:21 p.m. PT. "We apologize for the inconvenience. If you're scheduled to fly tonight, please check your flight status before heading to the airport." The message, echoed across social media and the company's website, urged travelers to monitor updates, as the glitch crippled key systems including reservations, check-in processes, and flight scheduling software.
By late evening, the fallout was palpable. Flight tracking service FlightAware reported at least 39 cancellations and 241 delays as of 11:30 p.m. PT, with ripple effects expected to linger into Friday. Airports from Sea-Tac in Seattle—Alaska's bustling hub handling over 400 daily departures—to Los Angeles International (LAX), Portland International (PDX), and even distant outposts like El Paso International (ELP) saw gates frozen and runways eerily quiet. At Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX), ABC15 Arizona tallied 71 delays during the peak of the ground stop, stranding families en route to weekend getaways or business meetings.
Passenger accounts painted a chaotic picture on social media. Videos circulating on X depicted frustrated crowds at check-in counters, with one viral clip from LAX showing a young child in tears amid the confusion, amassing over 2 million views. "Screens went black at 200 gates—pure pandemonium," tweeted user @TravelHorrorStories, whose post captured ground crews resorting to manual whiteboards for boarding calls. Another traveler, @StrandedInPDX, shared a photo of a packed terminal lounge, captioning it: "Alaska Airlines IT fail: No flights, no refunds yet, just vibes and vending machines. Day 2 of this nightmare?" Reddit threads in r/travel and r/AlaskaAirlines buzzed with speculation, from "cyber sabotage" to "another botched update," reflecting a mix of exasperation and dark humor.
The airline, which serves 140 destinations in 37 U.S. states and 12 countries with a fleet of over 300 aircraft, estimated the outage could impact up to 150,000 travelers daily. While Thompson emphasized that "the safety of our flights was never compromised," the incident disrupted not just domestic hops but international codeshares, with delays cascading to European partners like KLM and British Airways. In Hawaii, a vital market for the carrier, the grounding threatened $100 million in tourism losses as hotel bookings evaporated overnight, per early estimates from the Hawaiian Visitors and Convention Bureau.
As the clock ticked past 7 p.m. PT, Alaska Airlines issued an update signaling partial recovery: "We are actively restoring operations and expect to resume flights shortly." By 10 p.m., some departures trickled out from major hubs, but the airline warned of "cancellations of some of our flights this evening and into tomorrow." A flexible travel policy was activated, offering rebooking without fees, full refunds, and travel vouchers up to $200 for affected passengers. However, with call centers overwhelmed—wait times exceeding 90 minutes—many turned to the airline's app or website for self-service options, only to encounter intermittent glitches.
This is not Alaska Airlines' first brush with IT Armageddon in 2025. In July, a similar glitch forced a three-hour nationwide suspension, grounding flights on July 21 and delaying over 200 departures. That episode, which the carrier attributed to a software malfunction in its network systems, led to congressional inquiries and a $5 million fine from the U.S. Department of Transportation for inadequate passenger notifications. "Residual impacts lingered for days," recalled FAA logs from the time, with compensation claims topping $2 million. The July outage came on the heels of a smaller disruption in April 2024, triggered by a systems upgrade gone awry, underscoring a pattern of tech vulnerabilities that critics say the airline has yet to fully address.
Experts point to broader industry headwinds exacerbating these failures. The U.S. aviation sector is still reeling from the Federal Aviation Administration's ongoing struggles, compounded by a partial government shutdown that began earlier in October. Shortages of air traffic controllers—down 10% from pre-pandemic levels—have already fueled widespread delays, with the FAA reporting over 25,000 flight interruptions in the past month alone. "IT outages like this are the canary in the coal mine," said aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group. "Airlines rely on hyper-connected systems for everything from fueling to baggage routing. When they fail, it's not just inconvenient—it's a domino effect on the entire ecosystem."
Compounding the crisis, cybersecurity threats loom large. Recent warnings from tech giants Google and Palo Alto Networks highlighted the "Scattered Spider" hacking collective's targeting of aviation firms. While Thompson ruled out a cyberattack in Thursday's incident—"This was a containment protocol failure in our reservation systems, not external interference"—the timing raises eyebrows. Just last week, a CrowdStrike software update paralyzed global operations, and in June, Canada's WestJet grappled with an unspecified cyber breach. Australia's Qantas, meanwhile, disclosed a July data leak exposing millions of customer records. "We're seeing nation-state actors probe supply chains," noted cybersecurity firm Mandiant in a recent report, flagging suspicious Eastern European IP traffic near U.S. carriers. On X, conspiracy theories proliferated, with users like @JackStr42679640 quipping, "Purge everywhere… brilliant plan," linking the outage to unrelated political purges.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wasted no time responding. In a late-evening statement, he demanded a full briefing from Alaska executives by noon Friday, vowing to probe "supply-chain vulnerabilities" in the sector. "Passengers deserve seamless, safe travel—not tech roulette," Buttigieg posted on X, echoing calls from lawmakers for mandatory resilience audits. The FAA, meanwhile, extended its advisory into early Friday, monitoring for "knock-on effects" at interconnected hubs.
For those caught in the crossfire, the human toll is immediate and acute. Sarah Jenkins, a Portland mother of two traveling to a family wedding in Honolulu, described her ordeal to local KPTV reporters: "We boarded, taxied out, then sat for two hours before they deplaned us. Now we're rebooked for Saturday—on Hawaiian, thank God—but the kids are exhausted, and I've burned through $300 on airport food." In El Paso, a single flight to Seattle was scrubbed, leaving business travelers like engineer Miguel Rodriguez fuming: "This isn't just Alaska's problem; it's America's travel backbone cracking."
Alaska Airlines, the fifth-largest U.S. carrier by passengers carried, has invested heavily in digital upgrades post-merger with Hawaiian, boasting a $1.2 billion IT overhaul announced in early 2025. Yet, these recurrent outages erode trust. Stock in parent company Alaska Air Group dipped 4.2% in after-hours trading, wiping out $250 million in market value. Competitors like Delta and United scooped up stranded passengers on select routes, with Delta tweeting offers of waived change fees for Alaska connections.
As dawn breaks on Friday, recovery efforts continue apace. Thompson projected 80% of flights resuming by midday, but meteorologists warn of compounding woes: A weekend storm system barreling toward the West Coast could exacerbate delays. For the airline, the path forward demands more than apologies—perhaps a root-and-branch review of its tech stack, bolstered redundancies, and transparent communication. In an era where a single server hiccup can cascade into global gridlock, Alaska's latest stumble serves as a stark reminder: The skies may be friendly, but the systems beneath them are perilously fragile.
In the words of one X user amid the melee: "Flying used to be glamorous. Now it's just hoping your airline's servers don't ghost you." As investigations unfold, one thing is clear: For Alaska Airlines and the millions who fly it, this outage is more than a glitch—it's a wake-up call.
