Alaska Airlines has resumed flights after the failure of a critical piece of hardware forced the airline to ground all its planes for approximately three hours, but the effects will linger into Monday, the company announced.
The carrier issued a system-wide ground stop for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air flights around 8 p.m. Pacific time Sunday. The stop was lifted at 11 p.m., the Seattle-based company said in a social media post. More than 150 flights have been canceled since Sunday evening. The FlightAware tracking site reported 84 cancellations and nearly 150 delays Monday.
“We appreciate the patience of our guests whose travel plans have been disrupted. We’re working to get them to their destinations as quickly as we can,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline said “a critical piece of multi-redundant hardware at our data centers, manufactured by a third-party, experienced an unexpected failure.” That affected several of the airlines key systems, but hacking was not involved, and the airline said the incident was not related to any other events like the attack involving Microsoft's servers over the weekend or the recent cybersecurity event at its Hawaiian Airlines subsidiary in June.
The airline also said it is working with its vendor to replace the hardware at the data center.
Alaska Airlines led all airlines in cancellations Monday, according to FlightAware. Many of the cancellations were at the airline's major hub of Seattle, but it also canceled flights at airports all over the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration website had confirmed a ground stop for all Alaska Airlines mainline and Horizon aircraft, referring to an Alaska Airlines subsidiary. But the FAA referred all questions to the airline Monday.
There has been a history of computer problems disrupting flights in the industry, though most of the time the disruptions are only temporary. Airlines have large, layered technology systems, and crew-tracking programs are often among the oldest systems. They also rely on other systems to check in passengers and make pre-flight calculations about aircraft weight and balance. But some of the most widespread problems are often related to computer systems the airlines themselves don't control.
Nearly every major U.S. airline had to cancel hundreds — if not thousands — of flights last year after a major internet outage that was blamed on a software update that cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike sent to Microsoft computers of its corporate customers, including many airlines.
The FAA caused all U.S. departures to be halted briefly in January 2023 when a system used to alert pilots to safety hazards failed. That was the first nationwide ground stop since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The agency blamed a contractor that it said accidentally deleted files while synchronizing the alert system and its backup.
One of the biggest individual airline tech problems was the December 2022 debacle that caused Southwest Airlines to cancel nearly 17,000 flights over a 15-day stretch. After a federal investigation of Southwest’s compliance with consumer-protection rules, the airline agreed to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement with the Transportation Department.
Southwest’s breakdown started during a winter storm, but the airline’s recovery took unusually long because of problems with a crew-scheduling system.
The air traffic controllers that direct flights in and out of the nation's airports also rely on outdated technology that the Trump administration has proposed overhauling after a series of high-profile failures and crashes this year, especially at Newark Liberty International Airport. Congress included $12.5 billion for those upgrades in Trump's overall budget bill, but officials have described that as only a down payment on the project.
The National Transportation Board last month credited the crew of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 with the survival of passengers when a door plug panel flew off the plane shortly after takeoff on Jan. 5, 2024, leaving a hole that sucked objects out of the cabin.
In September, Alaska Airlines said it grounded its flights in Seattle briefly due to “significant disruptions” from an unspecified technology problem that was resolved within hours.
FILE - Alaska Airlines aircraft sits in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo couldn’t remember hearing boos from his home crowd during his brilliant 13-year career in Milwaukee.
It happened Tuesday midway through the Bucks’ 139-106 loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that was playing without Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.
“I’ve never been a part of something like that before,” Antetokounmpo said after the game. “Something new for me.”
The two-time MVP responded the same way he has whenever he’s been booed on the road. After making a driving layup and drawing a foul in the opening minute of the third quarter, Antetokounmpo offered a thumbs-down gesture and booed back.
“When I get booed, I boo back,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’ve been doing it all season.”
Those boos poured down after Milwaukee trailed 76-45 at the break. Never before in franchise history had the Timberwolves built such a big halftime lead in a road game.
Antetokounmpo acknowledged the Bucks’ effort was low Tuesday. He also expanded on why the boos bothered him.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” Antetokounmpo said. “But everybody has their opinion to do what they want to do. I’m not going to tell them what to do and how they should act when we don’t play hard or win, or we lose games or we’re not where we’re supposed to be. And I don’t think anybody has the right to tell me how I should act on the basketball court after I’ve been here 13 years and I’m basically the all-time leader in everything.”
The Bucks’ latest loss came as they approach the midway point of a season that hasn’t met their expectations.
Milwaukee (17-23) is 11th in the Eastern Conference standings, meaning the Bucks would have to rally in the second half just to reach the play-in round of the postseason. That’s a precipitous fall for a team that has made nine straight playoff appearances and won the NBA title in 2021.
The Bucks’ precarious position means they can’t afford to have performances like the one they delivered against a short-handed Minnesota team Tuesday. Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers blamed it on “dead legs” after the game, noting the Bucks had just returned from a four-game trip and are about to go back on the road for their next two contests.
“Dead legs cannot be an excuse,” Antetokounmpo said. “We have to be better.”
Antetokounmpo noted that the improvement must start with him, though he delivered 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists on Tuesday. He was asked how the Bucks could step up in the second half to put themselves back in playoff position.
“Playing hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “Playing the right way. Playing selfless basketball, which we don’t. I don’t know. I really don’t know. Those three things are important. I know that they’re important for you to win. Right now there’s so many things that we can do better. Let’s just start by, ’Can we just play harder? Can we just play the right way? Can we create advantages for the next player? Can we just play for our teammate, play for the team, play for ourselves?' Let’s start with that, and I think everything will follow.”
Antetokounmpo has offered similar messages after other losses this season, but the Bucks still haven’t put it all together. They haven’t won more than two straight games at any point this season.
“Maybe we are not connected as much as we should,” Antetokounmpo said. “Maybe my voice is just a broken record and guys are just tired and guys might tend to do what they want to do. I don’t know. But as a leader, it doesn’t matter. Being a leader is the same thing as being a dad. You have to keep on being available, being consistent with your words and your actions over and over and over again. One day you hope the message is going to go through.”
In the meantime, Antetokounmpo says he will keep responding to boos the same way, no matter who’s doing the jeering.
“I thrive through adversity,” Antetokounmpo said. “I thrive when people don’t believe in me. Doesn’t matter if I’m on the road, if I’m at home, if I’m at my family dinner, if I’m at a practice facility against my teammate.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots between Minnesota Timberwolves' Julius Randle and Naz Reid during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo reacts aftetr being fouled during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
