News / Society

Computer issues hit three US airlines, grounding flights

Tuesday, 15 June 2021 4:12 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 June 2021 4:12 PM ]

This photo illustration shows a network user logging into a social media platform of former US President Donald Trump via computer link on May 5, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by AFP)

Computer networks have caused problems in at least three US airlines amid reports of surging cyber-attacks against American firms.

Network issues related to weather reports, booking information and apps affected operations in Southwest, Delta and Alaska Airlines on Monday.

"We are currently experiencing issues .... 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 as reported by CNN.

Delta Airlines also announced that network issues had made it difficult for its passengers to book flights.

Southwest Airlines was the worst-hit of the three where the computer network issues forced the company to ground and delay several flights.

"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.

According to the flight-tracking website Flight Radar 24, more than a dozen Southwest Airlines flights that were set to take off on Monday were either grounded or delayed.

In the past, the White House accused criminal organizations "likely based in Russia" behind cyber-attacks against US firms.

Computer networks at JBS, the US-based giant meat processing company, were hacked last week, temporarily shutting down some operations in the firm.