Alaska Airlines grounds flights nationwide after IT outage

Alaska Airlines grounded its flights nationwide Thursday evening after an information technology outage disrupted the carrier's systems, the airline said, leaving passengers delayed at gates and on some aircraft while technicians worked to restore service. The temporary ground stop was issued around the evening peak and applied to Alaska Airlines operations at airports across the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the ground stop was requested for a period of more than two hours. The halt affected Alaska Airlines and its regional unit Horizon Air, while Hawaiian Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, said its operations were not affected. Alaska Airlines posted on social media, "Alaska Airlines is experiencing an IT outage affecting operations. A temporary ground stop is in place. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Passengers reported long waits at gates and on board aircraft as flight crews and airport staff awaited system recovery. Some travelers described remaining on parked planes for upwards of two hours before being allowed to disembark, and many passengers chose to retrieve checked bags and return to terminal areas while they waited. The...