TLDR:
- A suspected cyber-attack has caused travel chaos at Seattle Airport, disrupting airport and maritime services.
- The incident, which started on August 24, has led to significant delays and outages at the airport.
The Port of Seattle has been hit by a suspected cyber-attack, heavily disrupting airport and maritime services in the city ahead of Labor Day. The ongoing IT outage has led to significant delays to the check-in process at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), with no Wi-Fi currently available and display screens not working. Passengers are advised to get their mobile boarding pass and check baggage before they arrive at the airport to speed up the check-in process. The Port said there are “indications” the outages have been caused by a cyber-attack affecting multiple airlines.
Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, JetBlue, and International Airlines are particularly impacted, with the Port of Seattle’s website and baggage and flight information apps currently down. Meanwhile, the critical systems of the port have been isolated to prevent further damage, and there is currently no estimated time for recovery. The incident is impacting early Labor Day travel in the US, as the public holiday is set to take place on September 2. Despite the chaos, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has assured the security of the traveling public has not been compromised.
Overall, the suspected cyber-attack has caused widespread disruption to travel services in Seattle, with authorities working to restore systems and services to full capacity.