Alaska Airlines IT Outage Grounds Flights Across Fleet, Possibly Due to Ransomware Attack

• What happened: Alaska Airlines announced IT systems issues on its website on Sunday night.
• Impacted assets: Flights operated by Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air unit were temporarily grounded.
• Ransomware concerns: The announcement follows the FBI's recent warning about ransomware attacks targeting the aviation industry. 

An Alaska Airlines IT outage on Sunday, July 20, forced its entire fleet to the ground, disrupting flight schedules and impacting thousands of passengers. 

This unforeseen technical failure marks the second system-wide halt for the airline in just over a year, raising concerns about aviation cybersecurity and operational resilience.

Timeline and Key Details  

The Alaska Airlines IT outage was first reported at approximately 8 p.m. Pacific Time (0300 GMT, Monday), leading to a temporary halt for both Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Air unit flights, Alaska told Reuters on Sunday evening via email. 

According to the company’s statement, the outage led to an immediate cease to all operations system-wide—a move deemed essential to ensure safety and align with regulatory guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  

Residual impacts on airline operations are expected to continue throughout the evening, with affected passengers facing delays and cancellations across various U.S. destinations. 

While Alaska Airlines has not disclosed the specific cause of the IT failure, the event follows a spate of similar incidents across the industry. It comes at a time when the FBI has warned airlines, IT providers, and vendors about the Scattered Spider ransomware group, which uses impersonation in targeted attacks.  

Meanwhile, four individuals linked to Scattered Spider were charged by the U.K. authorities last week.

Operational and Industry Implications  

The 2025 flight disruptions underline the critical reliance of airlines on robust IT infrastructure. Alaska Airlines, which operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and Embraer 175 aircraft, is not alone in grappling with IT-induced delays.

This month, the Qantas Airlines data breach exposed 5.7 million customers, while Japan Airlines suffered flight disruptions in December.