FAA issues ground stop advisory for Alaska Airlines

Airline says it experienced IT issue during upgrade to system that calculates weight and balance

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop advisory on Wednesday for Alaska Airlines, saying: “All Alaska mainline and subcarrier flights ground stopped.”

In a separate statement, the FAA said the carrier “asked the FAA to pause the airline’s mainline departures nationwide”. It did not provide a reason for the stoppage. CNBC reported that the problem may have been an IT issue and that the airline’s system used to calculate weight and balance for flights was not functioning correctly.