The Port Authority of Seattle has confirmed that a potential cyber attack has affected multiple systems at Seattle Tacoma International Airport, and with travel woes stretching into a second straight day, officials still have no idea when it will take to recover impacted systems.
Problems first emerged at around 9 a.m. on Saturday when airport officials admitted that an internet and web outage had taken multiple IT systems, including airline check-in services, offline.
Perhaps it is a measure of just how well-accustomed airlines have become at implementing their IT contingency plans, but the airport has been able to continue operating throughout the outage, although travelers are being warned to expect delays and potential cancellations.
As of midday on Sunday, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines canceled just seven flights, although more than 100 flights have been delayed and the carrier is urging customers to pack light and avoid checking-in any bags because SeaTac’s baggage handling system has been hit by the possible cyber attack.
A spokesperson for the airline said its check-in systems hadn’t been hit by the outage but in a statement, a spokesperson noted: “The one area where we are starting to see some impacts today is with the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, so we are proactively warning guests who are flying out of Seattle to avoid checking a bag if possible.”
The spokesperson added: “We apologize in advance for the impact on our guests, and to all our employees working so hard to help them.”
With the Port Authority of Seattle’s website taken offline by the continuing outage, officials were forced to update the public about the ongoing systems issues via its official X account.
Earlier on Sunday, the Port Authority confirmed that it was still experiencing problems and there was currently no end in sight for frustrated passengers.
“System outages continue at the Port of Seattle, including at SEA airport,” a statement from SeaTac read. “Port teams continue to make progress on returning systems to normal operations, but there is not an estimated time for return.”
“In terminal screens are experiencing technical issues showing flight information, please check with your airline for the latest gate information,” the statement continued.
According to the Flight Aware ‘Misery Map, Seattle Tacoma was facing more cancellations than any other US airport on Sunday with at least 49 flights canceled by midday.
SeaTac’s internet woes come just weeks after the global CrowdStrike update bug caused travel chaos worldwide. Although most airlines were able to quickly recover their operations, Delta Air Lines is still facing intense scrutiny over its response to the outage.
Delta still firmly blames CrowdStrike for its days-long operational meltdown and is threatening to sue the internet security firm unless it foots a compensation bill estimated to be as high as $500 million.
