Alaska Airlines Grounds All Aircraft

Alaska Airlines is requesting the formal ground stop of all its flights, and thus, the grounding of aircraft is temporary.

The details, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines themselves, follow confirmation of an IT outage at 8:00 PM Pacific on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

The outage prompted the airline to request a temporary system-wide ground stop for not only its mainline Alaska Airlines flights but also Horizon Air services until the issue is formally resolved.

The cause of the outage has yet to be determined, given its recent occurrence and ongoing nature, with more details to be revealed in due course.

Alaska Airlines apologised to guests for the inconvenience being caused, saying that the impact will be felt across the evening and into the following days due to the outage.

Passengers affected questioned the airline, saying they had been stuck on the tarmac awaiting departure, and additionally pointed to those who had landed and were unable to exit the aircraft, putting their connections at risk of being missed.

Some passengers on the ground confirmed that pilots were telling them that the wait would be at least another hour, after already spending an hour on the ground upon arrival, throwing plans across the country into chaos.

For the planes still in the air, flight tracking data has shown that many have turned around and are headed for nearby airports due to the system-wide IT outage affecting the business.

Deja Vu For Alaska Airlines

The outage affecting the airline’s operation is a case of deja vu, as this represents the second time in just over 12 months that something has happened.

The airline encountered a significant IT issue in April 2024, which traced back to a critical system for calculating weight and balance across Aalska Airlines’ planes.

As a result, Alaska Airlines was forced to ground its entire operation, a matter that eventually resolved the effects felt across an hour, enough to disrupt operations for that day.

Given this is the second instance, calls from social media have put pressure on the carrier’s ineffective management, which has allowed this to happen once more, following operational challenges with fellow U.S. carrier Southwest as well.

For Alaska Airlines, it is no small airline with a major fleet operating to some of the largest cities in North America; as a result, another suspension of flying has adverse effects on finances and stability, alongside customer feedback.

This story is evolving rapidly, and this article will be updated as new information becomes available.