In a brief interruption to its operations on Wednesday morning, Alaska Airlines experienced a ground stop for approximately an hour, affecting all mainline and subcarrier flights. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the ground stop around 7:40 a.m., which was subsequently lifted at around 8:30 a.m., with the exception of regional service provider SkyWest.

Alaska Airlines issued a statement explaining that the ground stop was prompted by an issue encountered while performing a system upgrade related to the weight and balance calculation. The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused and assured passengers that they were working swiftly to resolve the problem.

A ground stop is a traffic management measure that requires certain aircraft to remain grounded at their departure airport. Despite the disruption, some passengers, like Shannon, were not significantly affected by the delay and found it to be rather convenient, jokingly expressing gratitude as it allowed them to catch up on their travel schedules.

However, FlightAware reported that as of noon on Wednesday, nearly 150 Alaska and Horizon flights at SeaTac airport were experiencing delays. Shannon, who had earlier remarked on the initial delay, found this subsequent delay to be unusual, as Alaska Airlines is typically known for shorter delays.

Another passenger, Dave Young, shared that he has generally had a positive experience with Alaska Airlines, aside from a January trip to Hawaii when there were multiple aircraft changes.

January also saw Alaska Airlines facing scrutiny after a door plug blew out mid-flight over Portland. However, the airline emphasized that the ground stop was not related to any safety concerns and assured passengers that the software system issue had been resolved.

Alaska Airlines advised passengers with reservations to check their flight status on alaskaair.com to stay updated on any potential impacts.