Alaska Airlines is working to normalize operations as 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.