SEATTLE – Alaska Airlines is working to restore normal operations and re-accommodate thousands of stranded passengers after a critical information technology outage triggered a nationwide ground stop on Sunday night, with severe disruptions continuing through Tuesday. The system failure has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations and significant delays, primarily impacting the carrier's main hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac).

The chaos began late Sunday, July 21, when the airline experienced a system-wide IT failure affecting its flight planning and dispatch software. In response, Alaska and its regional subsidiary, Horizon Air, requested a ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for all departing flights across the United States as a precautionary measure.

While the ground stop was lifted after several hours, the ripple effects have been severe and long-lasting.

Cascading Cancellations Create Travel Chaos

The initial shutdown created a cascading effect across the airline's network. By Monday morning, the backlog had forced Alaska to cancel over 300 flights, representing approximately 20% of its daily schedule, according to data from the flight tracking service FlightAware. An additional 400 flights were delayed.

The disruptions have been most acute at Sea-Tac, where Alaska Airlines is the dominant carrier. Terminals were packed with long lines of frustrated travelers seeking information and rebooking options. Many passengers reported waiting hours for assistance, with some sleeping in the airport overnight.

"We were supposed to fly out to Anchorage last night," said one traveler, Sarah Jenkins, who was waiting in a customer service line at Sea-Tac. "First it was a delay, then a cancellation. Now we're told the earliest they can get us out is Wednesday. The communication has been very slow."

The outage did not impact flights already in the air on Sunday, which were able to proceed safely to their destinations. However, the inability to dispatch new flights created a logistical nightmare, leaving aircraft and crews out of position for Monday's and Tuesday's schedules.

Airline Response and System Vulnerability

In a statement released Monday, Alaska Airlines apologized for the widespread disruption. "We are deeply sorry for the significant impact this IT outage is having on our guests' travel plans," the statement read. "Our teams are working around the clock to resolve the issue and get our customers to their destinations safely and as quickly as possible."

The airline has implemented a flexible travel policy, allowing affected passengers to change or cancel their flights without a fee. However, with many subsequent flights already fully booked for the peak summer travel season, rebooking options remain limited.

This incident highlights the inherent vulnerability of modern airlines to technological failures. Major carriers rely on complex, interconnected IT systems for everything from ticketing and baggage handling to flight dispatch and crew scheduling. A failure in one key component can quickly bring an entire network to a standstill.

Aviation industry analysts note that similar outages have plagued other major carriers in recent years, including Southwest and Delta Air Lines, often costing the companies tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue and passenger compensation. These events underscore the critical need for robust, redundant IT infrastructure in the aviation sector.

As of Tuesday morning, Alaska Airlines reported that its core systems were stabilizing, but warned passengers to expect continued delays and cancellations as it works to reset its operations. Travelers are strongly advised to check the status of their flight on the airline's website or mobile app before heading to the airport.