Tech Turbulence: Nationwide IT Outage Grounds Alaska Airlines, Adding to Quarter's Financial Headwinds

Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded all flights across the United States on Thursday evening after a major technology malfunction disrupted its critical operating systems. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that both Alaska Airlines and its regional affiliate, Horizon Air, were affected, and that the pause in operations lasted for a little more than two hours.

In a public statement shared on social media, the airline acknowledged that it was facing an IT outage affecting multiple systems and apologized to travelers for the disruption. Passengers were urged to verify their flight status before heading to the airport to avoid further inconvenience.

According to the company, the issue originated around 3:30 p.m. when a failure occurred at its primary data center. Alaska Airlines clarified that all safety measures remained intact and emphasized that there was no indication of a cybersecurity breach. The outage did not impact Hawaiian Airlines or other carriers operating in the same regions.

The system failure led to the cancellation of several flights operated by both Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. In response, the airline introduced a flexible travel policy for tickets booked on or before Thursday, allowing customers whose flights were scheduled between Thursday and Friday to rebook without additional fees through the following Monday.

This incident marked the second major IT disruption for Alaska Airlines in 2025, following a similar event in July that halted air traffic for roughly three hours. The timing of the outage coincided with the release of the company’s third-quarter earnings report, which indicated that the earlier July disruption—combined with rising fuel expenses and other costs—had reduced the airline’s projected annual profit.

In the latest report, Alaska Air Group posted adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share, falling short of the $1.13 per share consensus forecast from financial analysts.

During the ground stop, frustrated travelers took to social media to report difficulties accessing the airline’s website and mobile app. Alaska Airlines acknowledged these complaints, assuring customers that its IT team was working to restore systems as quickly as possible.

Alaska Airlines, headquartered on the U.S. West Coast, operates flights to more than 140 destinations, covering 37 U.S. states and over 10 international locations. Its parent company, Alaska Air Group, employs more than 30,000 people across its network.