Table of contents
- A sudden blackout that grounded everything
- Cyberattack alarm: suspicious coincidences
- Chaos for passengers: what to do
A sudden blackout that grounded everything
Last night, Alaska Airlines announced the suspension of all flights, including those operated by its subsidiary Horizon Air, due to a major IT blackout. Operations were halted while technicians worked to restore the system.
An official statement read: “Alaska Airlines experienced a system outage that impacted our operations. We requested a temporary suspension of Alaska and Horizon Air flights until the issue is resolved.”
Cyberattack alarm: suspicious coincidences
The timing has raised serious concerns of a cyberattack. Around the same time, The Washington Post reported a widespread hacking incident targeting federal agencies and companies across the United States.
Is there a link between the two events? While nothing is confirmed yet, experts are exploring possible connectionsbetween the Alaska Airlines blackout and the broader cyberattack wave. A compromised cyber security infrastructure is one of the working hypotheses.
Chaos for passengers: what to do
Passengers were advised to check their flight status via official channels and contact customer service for updates or rebookings. Flights have slowly resumed, but the damage to the company’s image is already done.
This episode underscores how heavily the airline industry relies on IT systems, and how vulnerable it is when those systems fail.
