Alaska Airlines grounded all of its flights nationwide on Sunday night following a major IT outage that caused widespread disruption and chaos for thousands of passengers. The airline confirmed in a statement that the system-wide outage began around 8 p.m. Pacific Time, prompting a temporary halt to all Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights. The grounding lasted approximately three hours before operations resumed. Video footage from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, captured by news reporter Adam Bennett, showed large crowds of frustrated passengers packed into terminal areas, with long lines forming as travelers awaited information and assistance. Describing the scene, Bennett called it a madhouse. Although flight operations have now resumed, Alaska Airlines warned of continued disruptions in the days ahead. As we reposition our aircraft and crews, there will most likely be residual impacts to our flights. It will take some time to get our overall operations back to normal, the airline said. The company advised customers to check their flight status before heading to the airport and apologized for the inconvenience caused. The root cause of the outage has not yet been disclosed. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed a ground stop for all Alaska Airlines mainline and Horizon Air flights during the outage. Horizon Air is a regional subsidiary of Alaska Airlines. The airline did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether the outage was connected to a statement from Microsoft earlier that day warning of active attacks on its server software used by various businesses and government entities. Sundays grounding marks the second time in just over a year that Alaska Airlines has halted all flights due to IT issues. In April 2024, the carrier grounded its entire fleet over a system malfunction involving the calculation of aircraft weight and balance. Additionally, in September 2024, Alaska briefly suspended flights in Seattle due to significant disruptions linked to another unspecified technology issue. According to its website, Alaska Air Group operates 238 Boeing 737 aircraft and 87 Embraer 175 jets. Hawaiian Airlines, which is owned by the same parent company, also reported a cyber incident in June that affected some of its IT systems. As the airline continues to stabilize operations, travelers are urged to stay informed and prepare for possible delays.The post Alaska airlines grounds all flights for hours due to IT outage appeared first on Time.com.ng.