US carrier Alaska Airlines requested and was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration a nationwide ground-stop that lasted for about 1h on the morning of 17 April.
The decision to cease all of Seattle-based carrier’s departures – including those of regional subsidiary Horizon Air – was related to “an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates weight and balance” of its aircraft, Alaska says.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we requested a ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights,” it adds.
The ground stop went into effect at 07:30 on the West Coast of the USA and lifted an hour later, after the issue was resolved.
“We have begun releasing flights,” the carrier says. “Residual delays are expected throughout the day. We apologise for the inconvenience and encourage guests to check the status of their flights.”
The FAA adds that ”operations are normal after Alaska Airlines asked the FAA to pause departures nationwide”.
