IT Failure Forces Alaska Airlines to Halt All Flights

‍SEATTLE – Seattle-based Alaska Airlines (AS) experienced a temporary ground stop following an IT outage affecting operations in the afternoon of October 23, 2025.

The outage led to the cancellation of over 200 flights and delays to hundreds more. The airline requested the FAA for the ground stop and subsequently made the following statement:

"Alaska Airlines is experiencing an IT outage affecting operations. A temporary ground stop is in place. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you're scheduled to fly tonight, please check your flight status before heading to the airport."

The IT issue and ground stop affected all AS mainline flights from all bases and stations, as well as those operated by Horizon Air (QX).

Some SkyWest (OO)-operated flights are departing at this time, while flights arriving at Seattle (SEA) are beginning to pile up on taxiways waiting for gate assignments. Mainline departures have yet to resume.

At the time of publishing this post, the latest update came at 11:21 PM EST:

"We are still experiencing an IT outage affecting our operations that has resulted in cancellations of some of our flights this evening and into tomorrow. We apologize for the inconvenience and ask that you check your flight status before heading to the airport."

Third Quarter in Review

On the same evening of the IT outage, Alaska Air Group published its third quarter financial report, delivering a modest but stable third quarter as it continues integrating Hawaiian Airlines (H) into its operations. Since Hawaiian’s results are now included from September 18, 2024 onward, the company provided pro forma comparisons to give a clearer year-over-year view.

The group reported a GAAP pretax margin of 2.9% and net income of $0.62 per share, while adjusted earnings reached $1.05 per share, translating to a stronger adjusted pretax margin of 4.6%.

Operationally, capacity declined slightly by 0.7%, performing better than forecast, while revenue per available seat mile (RASM) rose 1.4%, also ahead of expectations. Costs excluding fuel (CASMex) climbed 8.6%, in line with prior guidance as integration expenses and labor costs weighed on margins.

Overall, Alaska Air Group met or exceeded most of its financial targets for the quarter, demonstrating resilience through network optimization and disciplined revenue performance despite ongoing merger-related headwinds.

October 24, 2025 Update

"Alaska Airlines is working to normalize operations safely and as quickly as possible after a significant IT outage led to a systemwide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon operated flights.

The ground stop was lifted at 11:30 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, Oct. 23; the issue began earlier that day at approximately 3:30 p.m. when a failure occurred at our primary data center.As of 1 p.m. Pacific on Friday, Oct. 24, we have canceled more than 400 flights on Alaska and Horizon. Over the two days, more than 49,000 passengers have had their travel plans disrupted.

Hawaiian Airlines flights were not impacted.We are deeply sorry for the disruptions this event has caused for so many of our valued guests. We’re working to get everyone to their destinations as quickly as we can.

Before heading to the airport, we encourage flyers to check their flight status. A flexible travel policy that allows guests to self-service on our app and website is in place.

We have also increased guest care staffing to support higher volumes, but recognize that wait times have been frustratingly long.We know our guests put their trust in us when they choose to fly with Alaska, and this level of performance is not acceptable. And while safety is our most critical responsibility, the reliability of our operations is an essential expectation of our guests.

Following a similar disruption earlier this year, we took action to harden our systems, but this failure underscores the work that remains to be done to ensure system stability. We are immediately bringing in outside technical experts to diagnose our entire IT infrastructure to ensure we are as resilient as we need to be.

The reliability of our technology is fundamental to our ability to serve guests and get them to where they need to be. As we expand and execute the plan to ensure our systems are sufficiently resilient, we will continue to share updates on our progress."