Press Release:
A computer system outage that disrupted about 15 percent of Alaska
Airlines and Horizon Air flights today has been partially restored. Alaska and
Horizon flights are operating, although many are delayed by two hours or more
and additional cancellations are possible.
By midday, Alaska and Horizon had canceled about 140 flights affecting some
11,700 passengers. Customers are being re-accommodated on the next available
flight at no charge. The airlines are also working to accommodate customers on
other carriers.
“We’re working to get our operation back to normal as quickly as possible and
are very sorry for the inconvenience to our customers,” Alaska Airlines
President Brad Tilden said. “We are doing all we can to book them on other
flights.”
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight onwww.alaskaair.com
or by calling 1-800-ALASKAAIR before leaving for the airport. Customers whose
flight plans are affected are advised to change their flight reservations on
alaskaair.com. Alternatively, they can call: Alaska Airlines Reservations:
1-800-ALASKAAIR (1-800-252-7522) or Horizon Air Reservations: 1-800-547-9308
(TTY/TDD Users: 1-800-682-2221).
Following flight re-accommodation, the airline encourages customers to contact
its Customer Care team at this URL:http://bit.ly/eJUPTe.
Twenty of Alaska Airlines’ 58 canceled flights were departing Seattle while
another 10 were flying in the state of Alaska. The remaining cancellations
affected departures throughout the airline’s route system, including six in
Southern California, five in Portland and four in the Bay Area. Horizon has
canceled 81 flights so far today, including 30 departing from Seattle, 13 in
Portland and eight in Spokane, Wash.
A central computer system used to prepare flight plans and other information
went down about 3 this morning when a backup power system upgrade was being
installed and a transformer malfunctioned. IT specialists have temporarily
restored the system and will work on permanent repairs overnight Saturday