Alaska Airlines announced they had temporarily grounded their U.S. air fleet Wednesday morning due to issues stemming from a computer system upgrade, NBC News reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued its approval of the act for both Alaska Airlines and Horizon flights. (RELATED: REPORT: United Airlines Requests Boeing To Cease Production Of Max 10 Jets The Airline Initially Purchased)
The airlines said that an issue arose when they were “performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance” in a statement, NBC News reported.
“We have begun releasing flights. 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 going to the airport,” Alaska Airlines told its customers in a statement, according to KARE 11.
Alaska Airlines grounds its entire U.S. fleet after experiencing problems with a computer system upgrade. https://t.co/iAsUcs8RKt
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 17, 2024
The grounding of the fleet is a drastic action that is “considered to be the most restrictive of the” traffic management initiatives available, according to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). This measure is typically taken “when air traffic control is unable to safely accommodate additional aircraft in the system” such as due to severe weather, serious equipment problems and other such major events and issues, the NBAA’s website added.
“Ground stops are usually not planned well in advance – rather, they are used reactively as conditions warrant,” the association explained.
The FAA and Alaska Airlines have since announced that the issue has been resolved and flights would be resumed, Reuters reported.