A suspected cyberattack disrupted internal systems at Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) for a third day on August 26, 2024.
Operations at the airport have been disrupted since August 24, 2024, with SEA revealing that the airport was “experiencing an internet and web systems outage, which is impacting some systems”.
Widespread internet outage continued into August 25 and 26, 2024, affecting several airport systems such as website, information screens, email systems, and phone systems.
The airport released an official statement on August 26, 2024, stating that it had isolated critical systems and was in the process of working to restore full service with the assistance of industry experts.
“We are working closely with our partners to help travelers who may be impacted,” said Perry Cooper, SEA’s Airport Senior Media Officer. “If you are traveling today, please check with your airline for flight and baggage information.”
Programs and services like SEA Visitor Pass and the airport Lost and Found, were also unavailable. The statement also noted that display screens were not showing checkpoint wait times.
Many passengers faced security lines that were longer than normal and long waits at baggage claims during the three-day outage. Terminal screens were also off throughout the airport, making it difficult to access arrival, departure, and gate information.
Airport officials were forced to enter passenger’s data manually, according to The Cyber Express. Passengers were encouraged to have boarding passes on their mobile phones and plan some extra time to reach their gates.
Officials are yet to release details about the full scope of the outage, but have revealed that Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, JetBlue, and International Airlines were specifically affected by the outage.
