Delays and outages persist at Seattle-Tacoma Airport following suspected cyberattack
After a suspected cyberattack, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, better known as SeaTac, is still experiencing system outages, causing disruptions for travelers for the third consecutive day.
According to airport representative Perry Cooper, there is currently no estimated time for when the affected systems will be fully restored.
“We are working diligently to lessen the impact on passengers and our airline partners,” stated Aviation Managing Director Lance Lyttle during a press conference on Sunday.
Officials from Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration confirmed at the same press conference that their systems were not impacted by the suspected cyberattack.
Cooper noted that the primary systems affected for customers include the flight information displays and baggage handling systems.
The airport announced the potential cybersecurity issue on X, previously known as Twitter, shortly after 9 a.m. PT on Saturday, indicating they had “isolated critical systems.”
Lyttle indicated that several systems remain down, including email services. As of 2:30 p.m. PT on Monday, the airport’s website was still unavailable.
A TSA representative advised travelers via X to check in for flights and print boarding passes from home on Monday, reiterating earlier guidance from the airport.
Cybersecurity incident irks travelers, but airlines face minimal disruption
Two airlines that operate out of the airport reported that their services have been only slightly impacted by the outages.
Alaska Airlines communicated to YSL News that their systems were operational on Sunday, although “we are beginning to notice some issues today with the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, so we recommend passengers flying out of Seattle try to avoid checking bags if possible.”
Delta Air Lines indicated that it too faced minimal operational issues at the airport as of Monday.
Flight tracking service FlightAware recorded six cancellations and 375 delays at SeaTac on Sunday. By 5 p.m. PT on Monday, there had been 218 delays and 10 cancellations, though it’s unclear if these issues were linked to the ongoing outages.
