Alaska, Horizon Grounded After Data Center Failure

On Oct. 23 Alaska Airlines issued a nationwide temporary ground stop after an IT outage traced to a failure at its primary data center, halting Alaska and Horizon Air operations and prompting an FAA advisory. The outage caused widespread delays and cancellations — the airline said there were more than 229 cancellations since the afternoon, while trackers and outlets reported dozens to more than 70 individual cancellations — and left many passengers stranded. Alaska said safety was not compromised, apologized to customers, said it was actively restoring operations and advised travelers to check flight status and use its flexible travel policy. This was the carrier’s second major technology outage this year, renewing scrutiny of its IT infrastructure and contingency planning. Major hubs including Seattle–Tacoma and Los Angeles were among the worst affected, and the disruption came amid broader U.S. travel strain from the ongoing government shutdown.