Computer ‘Cough’ Disrupts Alaska Air in Seattle Sunday Night

Alaska Airlines operations at SeaTac Airport were interrupted for a couple of hours Sunday evening due to a computer issue, says the airline.

   A Ground Stop was issued from 8 to 10 PM

 According to Geekwire, a ground stop was issued by Alaska while they chased down a computer issue:

"Alaska Airlines experienced a “significant IT outage” on Sunday evening that delayed flights and forced it to request a ground stop at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

The Seattle-based airline first noted the outage around 8 p.m. PT in response to messages on X."

It was not related to cyberattacks in any way, but rather a computer "certificate" issue that caused the outage.  A ground stop is when planes are held at the airport rather than being sent off.  Ground stops are not uncommon, they're often enacted when airports come under severe weather, or there are IT issues.

The problem was resolved by 10 PM and flights and operations were able to continue.

According to Geekwire:

"The issue seemed to affect Alaska flights beyond Seattle. One user said their flight from San Francisco to Portland was “stuck on tarmac as planes at the gate are grounded here.”