Alaska Airlines resumes flights after hardware failure causes system-wide ground stop

Alaska Airlines resumed operations after a critical hardware failure led to a three-hour system-wide ground stop on Sunday evening. The outage resulted in nearly 200 flight cancellations and impacted about 13,500 travelers, with the airline leading in cancellations on Monday. Alaska Airlines attributed the issue to a third-party hardware failure, clarifying that it was not a cybersecurity incident. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the ground stop for all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights. The airline is collaborating with its vendor to replace the malfunctioning equipment at its data center.

Passengers are advised to check flight statuses as additional disruptions may still occur. Alaska Airlines has also enacted a flexible travel policy to assist affected guests. This incident highlights the vulnerability of airline technology systems, which can be disrupted by failures outside of the airlines' control.