Aviation

Tech issues hit three US airlines, grounding flights

Three U.S. airlines were hit with technical issues on Monday that caused flight delays and hampered ticket purchases.

Southwest Airlines saw the biggest problems when its weather data provider went down, making it unsafe for planes to fly, CNN reported

“While the vendor worked to restore connectivity, we implemented a ground stop to protect the safety of our crews and customers,” Southwest said in a statement.

Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines also saw issues affecting booking and apps, but flights were not delayed.

“We are currently experiencing issues that affect shopping at alaskaair.com, our mobile app and through our contact center. We are actively working with our partner that powers our shopping platform to resolve the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later,” Alaska Airlines’ booking page stated, CNN noted.

Delta, meanwhile, had to fix issues that made it difficult for their passengers to book flights, although customers could still check in for travel, the company said in a statement to the network.

Demand for the air travel is currently rebounding from the hit it took during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Transportation Security Administration on Sunday recorded the highest number of passengers screened in one day since the pandemic began. 

The Hill has reached out to Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines for comment.