Seattle / USA – July 21, 2025 – Alaska Airlines issued an immediate ground stop for all its mainline flights—including Horizon Air regional services—Sunday evening following a major IT systems outage that disrupted operations across its network. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the move via its status page, affecting departures to more than 200 destinations.
🛑 What Triggered the Halt?
- Around 8 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, Alaska Airlines experienced a core IT failure. The carrier described the incident as a “system-wide outage” affecting reservation, scheduling, and dispatch platforms, prompting the unexpected grounding.
- The FAA status page confirmed the request for a ground stop for all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights.
🧳 Passenger Disruption & Airline Response
- Stranded flyers across domestic U.S. airports faced delays and cancellations with little prior notice. Many were left stranded, and customer service teams scrambled to find backup flights or accommodations.
- An Alaska Airlines spokesperson acknowledged the outage, apologized for the inconvenience, and said a full remediation effort was underway. Longer-term disruptions were expected into the evening.
🛠️ Broader Implications
- The carrier’s fleet includes 238 Boeing 737s and 87 Embraer 175s—virtually all grounded.
- This incident follows a cybersecurity incident in June, when Hawaii-based Hawaiian Airlines (also under Alaska Air Group) suffered an IT systems hack. The group is now assessing whether the current outage is related.
