Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at airports as airlines grapple with a global tech outage that has led to a significant number of flight cancellations and delays. The disruption, caused by a flawed software update for Microsoft Windows operating systems issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, has had far-reaching impacts beyond just air travel.
Over 5,400 flights in and out of the US were canceled on Friday and Saturday, with more than 21,300 flights experiencing delays. The situation is expected to persist through the weekend, with over 600 flights already canceled on Sunday morning.
The outage, which affected an estimated 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide, has been described as one of the most significant computer incidents in terms of overall effect. Businesses, government agencies, health and emergency services, banks, schools, and universities have all been affected by the widespread disruption.
CrowdStrike CEO has issued an apology to customers, and a fix has been deployed. However, experts warn that restoring systems to normalcy will be a lengthy process.
Major airlines such as United, Delta, and American have been working to recover from the outage. While services are gradually being restored, passengers should anticipate further delays and disruptions in the coming days.
The US Department of Transportation has determined that the flight delays and cancellations resulting from the system outage are within the airlines' control, requiring them to adhere to customer service commitments. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that passengers are entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled and they opt not to rebook.
As airlines navigate the complexities of rebooting thousands of computers at various locations, the process is expected to be challenging. The impact of the tech outage serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in our interconnected digital systems and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures.
