The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a ground stop for all Alaska Airlines flights Wednesday.

According to NBC News, the agency issued the ground stop due to a computer problem at the carrier.

Earlier Wednesday, the FAA did not offer any explanation, leading to panic and mass speculation about the reason for the grounding.

Alaska Airlines on Wednesday asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to pause the airline’s departures nationwide.

The FAA issued a ground stop advisory for Alaska Airlines at 7:50 am on Wednesday.

According to KIRO 7, the ground stop is related to a problem with the airline’s weight and balance system.

“This morning we experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance. A ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights was instituted at approximately 7:50am PT. We’re working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage guests to check the status of their flights on http://alaskaair.com or the Alaska App prior to heading to the airport.”

This is a developing story, we will continue to monitor and bring you updates.

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that an issue arose “while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance.”

Per NBC News:

The FAA initially approved a ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights starting at approximately 10:50 a.m. ET.

It was lifted just before 11:45 a.m. ET.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many flights were affected. An Alaska spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

The ground stop was issued just after 7:30 a.m. and lifted about an hour later, according to the FAA’s air traffic control system command center.

A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the airlines experienced “an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance.”

The airline requested a ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights, which was issued at about 7:30 a.m., the spokesperson said.

Travelers can expect residual delays throughout Wednesday and were urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” the spokesperson said.

Twelve Alaska Airlines flights delayed at San Francisco International Airport shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday according to FlightAware, which tracks airport traffic.

 

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