Grounding of All Alaska Airlines Flights Due to IT Malfunction
On July 20, 2025, Alaska Airlines experienced an unexpected IT outage that grounded over 200 mainline and Horizon Air flights for approximately three hours, causing significant travel disruptions. The outage began at 8 p.m. Pacific Time and resumed at about 11 p.m. Pacific Time following the resolution of a technical hardware failure.
The incident was not a cybersecurity incident or connected to any other current events, including the worldwide Microsoft hack or previously reported cyberattacks. Alaska Airlines confirmed that the outage was due to an unexpected failure of a critical piece of multi-redundant hardware manufactured by a third party at their data centers.
The FAA's website listed the ground stop as applying to all Alaska Airlines aircraft, and it remained in effect until around 2 a.m. ET Monday, when it was lifted. Travelers experienced long delays on tarmacs and in terminals, particularly at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Alaska Airlines warned passengers to expect delays throughout Monday due to the IT outage and advised them to check their flight statuses before heading to the airport due to potential disruptions. Passengers were also subjected to multiple gate changes during the incident.
It's important to clarify that this year's outage was not related to the global IT outage caused by CrowdStrike in July 2021, which was a cybersecurity event that brought down an estimated 8.5 million Microsoft Windows systems running CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor software. There is currently no word from Alaska Airlines on whether the outage ties into a broader software problem.
Alaska Airlines operates 238 Boeing aircraft, 87 Embraer planes, and 45 additional planes through Horizon Air. The airline is the fifth-largest in the U.S., serving more than 44 million passengers annually. Despite the disruptions, Alaska Airlines is resuming operations and working with the hardware vendor to replace the faulty equipment.
As of this report, Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. However, the airline emphasized that flight safety was never compromised during the incident.
[1] Alaska Airlines Confirms IT Outage, Grounds Flights (2025, July 20). Retrieved from https://www.alaskaair.com/newsroom/press-releases/alaska-airlines-confirms-it-outage-grounds-flights/
[2] Alaska Airlines IT Outage Grounds Flights, Causes Delays (2025, July 21). Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/alaska-airlines-it-outage-grounds-flights/index.html
[3] Alaska Airlines IT Outage: What We Know So Far (2025, July 21). Retrieved from https://www.seattletimes.com/business/alaska-airlines-it-outage-what-we-know-so-far/
- Tech news outlet Gizmodo reported no response from Alaska Airlines regarding the July 20, 2025, IT outage that grounded over 200 flights, causing travel disruptions.
- The unexpected failure of a critical piece of multi-redundant hardware manufactured by a third party at Alaska Airlines' data centers led to the IT outage, according to the airline.
- Lifestyle and tech blogs, including CNN Travel and The Seattle Times, covered the Alaska Airlines IT outage, providing updates on delays, gate changes, and the resumption of operations.
- Despite the IT outage incident, technology experts are keeping an eye on Alaska Airlines' operations, imagining how future technology advancements in the airline industry could mitigate such disruptions in the realm of general news and tech.
