An issue with the weight and balance calculation system for Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) aircraft, which caused a halt in all flights on Wednesday morning, has been resolved. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the ground stop after approximately an hour. This ground stop affected all departures for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, a regional carrier under Alaska Air Group, starting around 7:50 am PT (1450 GMT).
"This morning we experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance," stated the airline.
The airline anticipates residual flight delays throughout the day. Earlier, the FAA stated that the carrier "asked the FAA to pause the airline's mainline departures nationwide."
Following this advisory, shares of Alaska Air Group, the airline's owner, reduced their gains and were last seen up 2.6% at 11:51 ET (1551 GMT).
Addressing passenger complaints on social media platform X, the airline assured that efforts were underway to resume operations promptly.
According to the advisory from the FAA, flights operated by SkyWest, which offers regional service for Alaska Airlines and other carriers, were exempt from the ground stop.
