Alaska Airlines software outage delays flights
Alaska Airlines said flights were back in motion after a system failure grounded planes for around three hours. The airline warned there could still be leftover delays.
Planes grounded, then cleared hours later
Early Monday, Alaska Airlines restarted service after grounding its entire fleet and the planes of its partner airline, Horizon Air. The reason was a tech problem Alaska Airlines software outage.
At approximately 11:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the airline formally requested a suspension of flights involving over 200 aircraft, as stated in a report by the Federal Aviation Administration. Soon after, that request was extended to include Horizon Air planes too.
By 2 a.m. Monday, the airline announced the pause had ended. Flights started moving again.
Some delays may still happen
In a post on social media, Alaska Airlines said they were shifting planes and crew around. They warned that things might not run smoothly for a bit.
“It’ll take some time before things are fully back to normal,” they added.
Alaska and Horizon operate over 280 planes
By the end of April, Alaska Airlines proudly counted 238 Boeing jets in its fleet. Horizon Air, which is part of Alaska, flew another 45.
Alaska Airlines ranks fifth in the U.S.
According to its site, Alaska Airlines is the fifth-largest airline in the United States. It flies to over 120 cities across five countries and carries 44 million people each year.
Passengers faced long waits and confusion
Some passengers sat in planes on the ground for over an hour with no updates from the crew. Late Sunday night, many were still waiting to collect their bags or get new flights. Others were still stuck inside planes.
Grant Watts, who was flying with Alaska Airlines out of Denver, said he and his fiancé waited on the runway for two hours. Around 10:30 p.m., they were told to get off the plane, he said.