Horrible experience when we got stuck at the airport during the IT outage mess on Thursday, October 23, 2025! I will never forget this birthday trip out of Seattle aka SeaTac - total nightmare. Isn't this their Headquarters? I saw the "breaking news" on my phone from ABC News, yet no agents announced it over the loudspeaker, as hundreds of people were standing/sitting around looking clueless. No effective communication whatsoever. Some passengers were saying the staff didn't know either what was going on.
Apparently, this wasn't their first IT outage, but definitely not this caliber I was told. Clearly, after hearing delays/cancellations one after another, we expected our flight to SFO to be cancelled as well. The ticket agents non-chalantly advised us to go to customer service which they said would be a long line, or call their 1-800#, which is just as long - wait time approximately 5-8 hours. We all started lining up, keep in mind, there was only 1-2 customer service reps at Gate N terminal, whereas the other side (which you have to catch a tram to) is Gate C terminal, which had 5-6 customer service reps, but the line was wrapped around the entire terminal. They couldn't call for backup? What an embarassement, worst customer service!
14 hours later, we get to the front of line only to be rebooked on a Saturday morning (well our Friday was already wasted), and the option of staying at a hotel, not right next to the airport, as they were all booked, so Tukwila was the closest. I was told the baggage claim was also a zoo, and one of the workers said it wouldn't be wise to go down there, as our luggages will make it to our destination before we do. We had already turned in our rental car, so transporation was made by them. Additionally, no restaurants were opened at those odd hours at the airport from midnight on. We literally saw the sun set and the sun rise.
It was exhausting to say the least, and we had our doggie with us, who was the happiest passenger ever, can't say the same for the babies and toddlers. I felt bad for the parents with kids and elderly couples; all the passengers were distressed and inconvenienced. Add insult to injury, everyone was given a whopping $12 food voucher - are you kidding me, even Starbucks was $17? Have they heard of inflation and airport prices? What a joke, very disappointed. Then the stupid rebooking didn't work online for our boarding passes, as it asked for another pet fee (which we paid round-trip), and didn't honor the extra legroom we paid for WTH! My husband and son are both over 6'4" and had to fly in cramped seats in the back of the plane due to incompetence. That's why we flew Alaska in the first place to purchase extra legroom in premium class.
Not to mention, we had no extra luggage, no jackets, no change of clothes, our toiletries were with our checked bags. We got up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday to get to our flight just to check-in for our boarding passes and resolve the pet issue. Lo and behold everybody with a pet and those with pets in cargo arrived to resolve their issue(s). I heard an agent not knowing how to enter someone's pet; she had never done it before. Then another seasoned agent came over to help her. Is this who they have on weekends, a bunch of rookies?
Needless to say, our park & fly lot charged us another day, it caused a ripple effect of things. I hope they learned their lesson, as I was told the company went cheap and didn't upgrade their computer system. If you've bought out Hawaiian Airlines, you'd think to invest in a backup. Now, it's costing the company a lot more - reputation. Holidays are around the corner, don't want to be stuck sleeping in the airport. This was a nationwide fisasco via Alaska Airlines btw.
Kudos to all the passengers with the utmost patience and helping each other out, taking turns sitting down or going to the restroom, while waiting in long lines - no riot despite all the chaos. Shout out to the flight crew who got us home safely.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ziepj1_Wfy8
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