Hackers ruined everyone's weekend at a major international airport

A cyberattack took down Seattle-Tacoma's website and disrupted several computer systems

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A 2021 photo of passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
A 2021 photo of passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Photo: Ted S. Warren (AP)

America’s 11th-busiest airport had a rough weekend. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was saddled with extensive delays on Saturday and Sunday after what authorities believe to be a technological intrusion took down several of its computer systems.

“Earlier this morning the Port of Seattle experienced certain system outages indicating a possible cyberattack,” the airport said in a Facebook post on Saturday. “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.”

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The plane-tracking website FlightAware says that SeaTac had few cancelled flights, but experienced severe delays. Fifty-three percent of its departing flights took off later than expected, and that figure hit 46% for incoming flights.

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By Sunday night, the airport was still reporting delays and urging passengers to give themselves more time than usual to make their flights because phone and baggage-checking systems were not fully functional. Thirty-six percent of departing flights were late, as were 30% of arrivals.

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Things seem to be running smoothly so far Monday morning, but the airport’s website remains inaccessible. The Seattle Times reports that there is no immediately available estimate for a return to full service.