Yesterday evening, 
Alaska Airlines experienced considerable operational disruption as a result of an IT outage that forced the carrier to issue a ground stop for both its mainline flights and those operated by its regional partner, Horizon Air. With hundreds of services having thus been delayed or canceled, the airline has postponed its third-quarter earnings call and implemented a flexible travel policy for its guests.
The outage signaled a challenging end to Thursday for the 
oneworld member, which expects to see knock-on effects cause a degree of disruption today as well. While such outages and subsequent ground stops are rare, this is not the first time in recent memory that one has hit Alaska Airlines.
A Chaotic Thursday Evening
Alaska Airlines announced yesterday afternoon that it had issued a temporary ground stop due to an IT outage that was impacting its flights. The news was shared in a social media post at 16:21 Pacific Time, just ahead of what would normally have been a busy evening rush. The carrier advised passengers at the time to “please check your flight status before heading to the airport,” and apologized for the situation.
The ground stop affected both Alaska Airlines’ mainline flights and its regional services operated by partner carrier Horizon Air. In an update posted at 19:00 Pacific Time, the carrier said that it was “actively restoring [its] operations,” but it ultimately wasn’t until almost midnight that it was able to lift the ground stop, hinting at the severity of the situation. In a fresh update at 00:24 Pacific Time, it said that:
“A significant IT outage resulted in a system-wide ground stop of flights for Alaska and Horizon. The ground stop was lifted at 23:30 Pacific. We are working to get our operations back on track.”
Hundreds Of Delays & Cancellations
As part of Alaska Airlines’ most recent update, the carrier explained just after midnight that “since this afternoon, we’ve had more than 229 flight cancellations.” Even passengers traveling today are not necessarily out of the metaphorical woods yet, with the airline adding that “additional flight disruptions are likely as we reposition aircraft and crews throughout our network.” The numbers make for grim reading.
Indeed, current tracking data made available by Flight Aware shows that, in addition to the aforementioned cancellations, Alaska Airlines also had 236 delayed flights yesterday, accounting for some 29% of its Thursday schedule. Correspondingly, its hub at Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA) ranked second in the world yesterday in terms of delays and cancellations, with only Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) in front.
Today’s schedules are also beginning to show the effects of the knock-on disruption from the ground stop, with Flight Aware noting that 94 Alaska Airlines flights have already been canceled (12%), with another 16 (2%) having been delayed. With this in mind, Alaska Airlines has opted to implement a flexible travel policy for impacted guests looking to change their flight, as well as offering food and accommodation.
Increased Flexibility After The Third IT-Based Ground Stop In 10 Months
As part of its temporary flexible travel policy, passengers with tickets purchased on or before October 23 for flights on October 23 or 24 can now move them to any date between now and October 27 with no change fees or obligation to pay the difference in fare. Alternatively, guests can opt for a fee-free cancellation of their booking, with a full refund given to their account wallet or as a credit for a future flight.
Alaska Airlines has also opted to postpone its third-quarter results call. This would have taken place today at 11:30 Eastern Time, but the carrier has confirmed that it has been shelved in order “to allow our teams to focus on supporting our guests and the recovery of our operation.”
Long-time readers of Simple Flying will likely be aware of the fact that this isn’t the first time that an IT outage has temporarily grounded Alaska Airlines. Indeed, as detailed in the video above, a similar situation arose last December on ‘Cyber Monday.’ More recently, The Independent reported in July of 2025 that Alaska Airlines’ flights were grounded for three hours following an undisclosed tech outage.
