Seattle — A suspected cyberattack knocked internet, phone, email and other systems out at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a third day Monday while Port of Seattle officials worked to investigate the outage and fully restore service.
“We are working around the clock to restore essential systems and mitigate the impact to passengers,” Lance Little, the airport’s managing director of aviation, said at a press conference on Sunday.
Little said the airport is investigating with the help of outside experts and is working closely with federal partners, including the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Officials have not released details about the full extent of the outage, but Little said the outage is not affecting the TSA’s ability to screen passengers.
Some airlines, including Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines, both of which are based at Seattle International Airport, reported no service interruptions due to the outage. However, the outage affected the Port of Seattle’s baggage sorting system, and airlines warned passengers not to check bags if possible to avoid delays.
“TSA security equipment and operations were not affected by this outage. We want to reiterate that traveling safety was not at issue and TSA continued to screen all passengers and baggage with our rigorous screening procedures,” the TSA said in a statement. “The nearly 1,000 TSA officers at Seattle International Airport continue to provide world-class security. We thank the TSA Seattle officers for their dedicated and steady work this weekend and every day.”
The airport also warned travelers to allow extra time at the airport and, when possible, to use airline mobile apps to obtain boarding passes and baggage tags.
Still, many travelers faced longer-than-usual security lines and long wait times at baggage claim and security checkpoints. Terminal screens were also installed throughout the airport, making it difficult for some travelers to see which gate they were assigned to.
“Port teams are working to return systems to normal operations, but there is no estimated timeline for when that will be possible,” the airport said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
