Seattle, Washington – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport experienced a disruptive cyberattack for the third consecutive day, affecting internet, phones, email, and other essential systems. Port of Seattle officials are diligently working to address the outages and restore full service as quickly as possible. Aviation managing director Lance Lyttle expressed the airport’s commitment to resolving the issue and minimizing disruptions for passengers.
The extent of the outage has not been fully disclosed, but investigations are underway with the assistance of external experts and collaboration with federal partners like the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. While some airlines, such as Delta and Alaska Airlines, reported no interruptions in their services, the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system and lost and found system were affected.
Passengers were advised to allow extra time at the airport, utilize airline mobile applications for boarding passes and bag tags, and look for airport staff in green for assistance. This cyberattack led to longer security lines, delays at baggage claims, and challenges in accessing flight information due to malfunctioning terminal screens throughout the airport.
One traveler, Thai Un, shared his experience of arriving at the airport with his family, facing difficulties with drop-off lines, lack of flight information displays, and delayed baggage handling procedures due to the outage. Despite eventually receiving their missing bags, the travel disruptions were stressful and chaotic for Un and many other passengers affected by the system failure.
The airport acknowledged the ongoing efforts of port teams to address the situation but did not provide a specific timeline for normalizing operations. As the investigation continues and restoration work progresses, passengers are urged to remain patient and vigilant during this challenging period of service disruption at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.