'Domino effect' snarls Alaska Air flights after outage

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Even though Alaska Airlines flights are back in the air after a technical outage grounded grounded all their flights for hours Sunday night, thousands of travelers at Portland International Airport are still dealing with the issue.

One of the biggest problems is that some planes, pilots and crews that were supposed to be at PDX late Sunday to take off on Monday were not here. That caused some delays and cancellations on Monday.

Those delays and cancellations caused a domino effect.

Several passengers told KOIN 6 News they tried to get rebooked, reimbursed for hotel and meals or booked on another airline -- but that airline sent them back to the Alaska Air counter.

Now, some of those passengers were told there are no seats on flights until Tuesday.

Travelers who spoke with KOIN 6 News said they had a 7-hour wait on the phone Sunday night to reach Alaska Air customer service. The wait was shorter by texting with customer service.

Another issue was that FlyPDX.com showed Alaska flights were "on time" Sunday night even after all the flights were grounded.

Alaska Air officials reminded travelers to check the status of their flight before going to the airport.

Travelers who were affected by this outage should save all their expense receipts to submit for reimbursement. By law, the airline is required to issue an automatic refund when your flight is significantly delayed or canceled and you don't agree to a different flight.