FAA Abruptly Grounds All Alaska Airlines Flights
All Alaska Airlines planes were grounded for about an hour Wednesday morning.
Planes were grounded at about 7:30 a.m. PT by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA issued a ground stop halting all departures for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which is a regional airline owned by Alaska Air Group, according to Reuters.
The FAA advisory allowed flights for SkyWest, another regional air service provider, to continue.
“All Alaska mainline and subcarrier flights ground stopped,” the FAA wrote in a statement impacting all planes across the country flown by Alaska Airlines.
Alaska Airlines says their nationwide ground stop is over. There could be ripple effects of delayed flights as the day goes on. Hopefully, a full explanation too. Why did they try to upgrade their system during such a busy time for flights? And what went wrong? #fox10phoenix
— Ron Hoon (@RonHoonFox10) April 17, 2024
The airline indicated that the problem was related to calculating the weight and balance of an aircraft.
Weight and balance software checks a plan to ensure it is loaded properly and all weight from passengers, bags and cargo is distributed in a safe manner, according to KIRO-TV.
“This morning we experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance,” the airline said in a statement.
Crew on plane; you can deplane, just stay close by the gate.
Gate crew: you can’t get off the plane.
Back and forth. Everyone has walked talkies yet 0 communication between plane and gate. We reboard and pilot tells passenger “you can go get coffee” 🤦🏼♀️ @AlaskaAir— Jessica (@VegasMktgDiva) April 17, 2024
“Out of an abundance of caution, we requested a ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights, which was instituted at approximately 7:30 a.m. PT.
“The issue was mitigated and the ground stop for Alaska and Horizon flights expired at 8:30 a.m. PT. We have begun releasing flights,” the statement continued.
The FAA just grounded Alaska Airlines nationwide. We need a serious reckoning of what the hell is going on in the airline industry. Are they compromising on safety in the name of DEI? If the answer is yes, people need to go to prison for this. They’re playing with people’s lives… https://t.co/TzHtMUMiSx
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) April 17, 2024
“Residual delays are expected throughout the day. We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage guests to check the status of their flights on alaskaair.com or the Alaska App prior to heading to the airport,” the airline said.
As of 12:30 p.m. ET, no flight cancellations from Alaska Airlines were listed on the website FlightAware.
Alaska Airlines made headlines in January when the door of a Boeing 737-9 MAX blew off in midflight.
That incident was not connected to the ground stop issued Wednesday.
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