Cyberattack complicates travel at Seattle airport with holiday weekend approaching

As the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend is expected to send a record number of travelers to the skies, a cyberattack is forcing one of the nation’s largest airports to go back to basics. Computer systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport went down Saturday, and officials say they still don’t have an estimate for when they will be restored. “We’re working around the clock to get necessary systems back online and to mitigate impacts for passengers,” aviation managing director Lance Lyttle said in a news conference Sunday. The attack was focused on the Port of Seattle, which operates the airport. Online communications were affected, including the website used by the airport to advise passengers of their flight’s status, although there was a workaround web page with basic information up and running Wednesday. Airport Wi-Fi and the baggage processing system are down and the port’s email system went offline, officials said. Port of Seattle officials have not revealed any details about how the cyberattack was carried out, except to say that “nefarious characters” were involved. “That is the question that is on everybody’s mind, and all of our staff are working to figure out what exactly occurred,” airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said in a Monday news conference. The computer system outage comes as the TSA said it’s prepared to screen a potentially record-setting 17 million people over the holiday travel period and weeks after the global airline industry was hobbled by a CrowdStrike software issue that led to massive flight delays and cancelations.<br/>