For the third time in 15 months, Alaska Airlines grounded planes due to a major IT crash.
The carrier requested a system-wide ground stop for its aircraft and that of its subsidiary, Horizon Air, on Sunday evening, with services resuming about three hours later.
The airline has remained tight-lipped about the causes of the system paralysis, but separately on Sunday, Microsoft flagged “active attacks” on server software used by businesses, Reuters reported.
It added that Google and Palo Alto Networks have been warning that the “Scattered Spider” teen hacking group has an interest in the aviation sector.
In June, Hawaiian Airlines and Canada’s WestJet Airlines were hit by cyber attacks, and Australia’s Qantas experienced a data breach earlier this month.
However, the cause of Alaska’s outage could be internal.
Alaska suffered a malfunction in its weight and balance calculation system in April 2024 that grounded the fleet.
Then in September 2024, the carrier grounded flights in Seattle briefly due to “significant disruptions” from an unspecified technology problem that was resolved within hours.
Cybersecurity expert Savva Pistolas, Technical Director at ADAS Ltd, told The Independent: “Even though a ‘grounding of an entire fleet’ sounds like it has to be a response to something huge — the meticulous risk management requirements of aviation means that this can be caused by any number of things that might compromise the safety management system.
“Whenever there’s a single event that might compromise the safety of the fleet in theory — the fleet can’t take off. It’s as simple as that — and I’m glad that it is.”
Alaska Airlines said on X at 3am EST: “Alaska Airlines has resolved its earlier IT outage and has resumed operations.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, and encourage guests to check your flight status before heading to the airport.”
In response, passengers complained about delays and a lack of customer service.
X user Jack Gillin wrote: “Why haven’t you answered my customer care calls? It’s been more than four hours since I made my inquiry.”
Another complained: “Been on the phone on hold with your customer services for almost three hours and no one has picked up.”
Another revealed that after waiting for a flight for five hours, it was cancelled, with the airline unable to help with booking local accommodation.
Passengers who experienced a delay are entitled to a rebooking on the same airline or a partner carrier at no additional cost.
If the delay is longer than three hours, they are entitled to a meal or meal voucher and complimentary hotel stays for overnight delays.
This is because IT outages have been deemed “controllable” by the US Department of Transportation.
Airlines are not obliged to compensate passengers due to events outside their control, such as storms or bird strikes.
The Independent has approached Alaska Airlines for comment.
