Popular US aircraft operator Alaska Airlines grounded its fleet of over 200 planes due to an IT outage on Monday, July 21. What does that mean for the passengers? According to a notice issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, the airline has imposed a fleet-wide grounding order for all its aircraft operating under its primary brand.
However, the FAA's advisory, released late Sunday around 9 p.m., did not give the reason for grounding aircraft. The Alaska Air Group grounds all Horizon Air flights, the regional subsidiary operating its flights. The FAA page indicated that the destinations were affected by the cancellation.
According to its website, Alaska Airlines operated some of its flights, including 238 Boeing 737 aircraft and 87 Embraer 175 aircraft. At around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the airline reported an IT outage that had impacted several of its flights across its fleet. The airline told ABC News that it requested a temporary ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights until further notice.
Confirming this, Alaska Airlines took to X, said, "We are currently experiencing an IT outage that's impacting our operations. We requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop until the issue is resolved." Further apologising to its travellers, the airlines asked passengers to check flight status before leaving for the airport.