Travelers be aware: Cyberattack causing major issues at Sea-Tac Airport

The Port of Seattle, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac Airport), reported Sunday morning in a post on X it is still experiencing an internet outage that is impacting some airport systems.

Airport officials confirmed Sunday what they believe is a cyberattack brought down websites and email and disconnected phone services at the airport and Port of Seattle this weekend.

“We believe this was a cyberattack,” Lance Lyttle, the managing director of aviation for Sea-Tac Airport, said at a press conference Sunday, The Seattle Times reported.

The Times, citing the state of Washington’s federal TSA security director Greg Hawko, also reported security operations at the airport went on despite the attack, with 72,000 people flying out Sunday.

At the Sunday news conference, Lyttle said they had been working around the clock to resolve the crisis, KIRO 7 reported.

Lyttle added at that time he wasn’t aware of what exactly the cyberattackers were trying to accomplish.

“So, we don’t know specifically what anyone might be after,” Lyttle said, according to KIRO 7. “We’re still conducting active investigations going on right now. What we’re focusing on is getting the systems actually impacted back up and running so we can get passengers and airlines back to normal.”

There still is no estimated time for the systems to return.

The post Sunday from Sea-Tac Airport’s X account, @flySEA, encouraged passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information for their flights, use airline apps to get boarding passes and bag tags online, and allow extra time to get to the airport and their gate.

How we got here: ‘Possible cyberattack’ hits Sea-Tac Airport

Just after 9 a.m. Saturday is about when the issue began. That is the time the Port of Seattle first detailed the issues in a post on X. A post on @flySEA at that time encouraged passengers to check with their airlines for the latest for their flights as well.

The Port of Seattle, including SEA Airport, is experiencing an internet and web systems outage, which is impacting some systems at the airport. Passengers are encouraged to check with their airlines for the latest information for their flights. pic.twitter.com/GY6fbAHBg8

— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2024

The initial communication from the Port of Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport did not indicate the internet outage may have come from any sort of cyber attack. However, just before 1:30 p.m. Saturday, the Sea-Tac Airport X account published another X post stating the port “experienced certain system outages indicating a possible cyberattack.”

Earlier this morning the Port of Seattle experienced certain system outages indicating a possible cyberattack. The Port isolated critical systems and is in the process of working to restore full service and do not have an estimated time for return. (Cont.)

— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2024

Sea-Tac Airport also previously wrote on X it is “working closely with appropriate authorities and partners to help travelers who may be impacted.”

Trouble for travelers

On Sunday, 503 flights were delayed at Sea-Tac Airport and five flights were canceled, according to FlightAware, the website that tracks the status of flights and when they’re leaving and arriving at airports. The number of delays had risen steadily through the day with a spike in the afternoon and another one at night as there were 375 delays reported at 8 p.m., 322 delays reported at around 5 p.m., 144 delays at noon, 73 delays at 9 a.m. and 23 delays at 5:10 a.m.

On Saturday, 342 flights were delayed at Sea-Tac Airport and six flights were canceled. That number rose steadily through the night. More were delayed leaving the airport (197) than arriving (145).

KIRO 7 went to Sea-Tac Airport Saturday night and spoke to international travelers dealing with significant delays due to the systems outage.

Maria Camilon Price and her daughter Alexis waited hours in line to check in for their flight.

“They have to manually enter everybody’s information rather than the whole universal system,” Price said. “It’s frustrating and there have been people that have been here for over three hours now.”

Some travelers didn’t know about the outages until they landed.

Lena Frank and Jan Lintz told KIRO 7 they missed their connecting flight to Vancouver after sitting on the plane for two hours waiting for a gate. They thought their 2 1/2-hour layover would be enough time to make the connection. But they needed to rebook their flight.

Rebooking was especially tough as phone lines and Wi-Fi down across the airport.

The level of disruption on the Port of Seattle still isn’t known. The port’s websites, including the Sea-Tac Airport pages, remained unavailable for users as of 1 a.m. on Monday.

The Port of Seattle Maritime Facilities phone systems are down as a part of the outage, according to a post published on X just before 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Recommendations for travelers going to Sea-Tac Airport

Since publishing the X post about a possible cyberattack, Sea-Tac Airport also has provided the following recommendations to those who are traveling while this outage is happening:

• Travelers should check in for their flight online before arriving at the airport and get their boarding pass.
• For those who don’t have to check a bag, stick to just carry-on luggage.
• Passengers should give themselves extra time to get to Sea-Tac Airport and their gate.
• Since screens inside the terminals are experiencing technical issues showing flight information, travelers should check with their airline for the latest gate information.

Contributing: KIRO 7

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.