Alaska Airlines Requests Grounding of Entire Fleet Citing ‘IT Outage’

Khabor Wala Desk

Published: 21st July 2025, 3:40 PM

Alaska Airlines Requests Grounding of Entire Fleet Citing ‘IT Outage’

21 July 2025 – Alaska Airlines has initiated a temporary ground stop for all of its mainline aircraft, citing an unexpected IT outage, according to an advisory issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Details of the Grounding

Aspect	Details
Affected Airline	Alaska Airlines (including Horizon Air operations)
Reason	IT outage affecting system-wide operations
Action Taken	Temporary ground stop requested by Alaska Airlines
Authority Involved	United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Status on FAA Website	Ground stop in place for all Alaska Airlines’ mainline destinations
FAA Response	No immediate comment provided to AFP

A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines informed Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday:

“We experienced an IT outage that’s impacting our operations and have requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights until the issue is resolved.”

Timeline of Recent Safety Concerns

This latest operational disruption comes just over a year after a high-profile safety incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft:

Date	Incident
January 2024	A door plug section detached mid-air during a flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, causing rapid decompression.
Casualties	None. All 171 passengers and 6 crew members survived.
Aftermath	FAA grounded several Boeing 737-9 jets across US carriers.

Investigation Findings – Boeing’s Role

In June 2025, US investigators concluded that the root cause of the 737 Max 9 incident stemmed from inadequate manufacturing training protocols at Boeing. The findings further intensified scrutiny over both the airline’s safety practices and Boeing’s production oversight.

Industry Impact

Alaska Airlines’ latest issue—an IT system failure—highlights the increasing dependence of modern aviation on digital infrastructure. While such outages are not uncommon, system-wide ground stops are significant operational setbacks, affecting thousands of passengers.

Industry analysts warn that recurring technical and safety disruptions could damage public confidence and put additional regulatory pressure on both carriers and aircraft manufacturers.

Further updates are expected once the ground stop is lifted and system functionality is restored.