ALASKA Airlines was forced to ground all planes across the US on Thursday after being hit by an IT outage.
It’s the second time in three months that the carrier has been forced to halt all operations.
The outage has since sparked widespread travel chaos across the US.
Federal aviation chiefs issued a ground stop for Alaska Airlines’ entire fleet just after 7:30pm local time on Thursday.
Passengers in Seattle airport were seen lounging on their suitcases in the terminal as they waited for information.
Others managed to get onto their planes but were left sitting on the tarmac.
Pilots told passengers on board jets they would be taking off but planes didn’t move.
“They were like, okay, we’re going to be taking off, it’s an hour fifty-eight to Burbank, and then we didn’t move,” Wilder McCullough, who was heading to California, told KOMO-TV.
Airline bosses have since spoken out and have apologized for any disruption.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the carrier posted on X.
“If you’re scheduled to fly tonight, please check your flight status before heading to the airport.”
Alaska Airlines was hit with an IT outage in July, which also sparked widespread chaos.
The airline is the fifth largest in the US, with a fleet of more than 200 planes.
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