Flights grounded, passengers delayed amid unprecedented IT outage

Several airlines suspended flights on Friday, while others warned of flight delays and service unavailability as the impact of an unprecedented IT outage is felt globally.

Earlier on Friday, cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike experienced a major outage related to a technical update. Organizations, including Microsoft, are scrambling to restore a large number of apps and services used by companies.

Flight updates and boarding monitors at airports around the world are showing so-called “blue screens of death,” indicating an error on Microsoft’s systems.

“It seems that for the first time we are facing a truly global blackout… This outage not only affects individual users, but especially large institutions such as banks (including central banks), stock exchanges, airports, etc., causing operations to be paralyzed during the peak holiday period. Conotoxia Market Analyst Grzegorz Drozdz said in emailed comments.

Airlines in Europe, the Americas and Asia have released updates outlining the extent of the suspected impact on their flight schedules and wider services.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said on Friday morning that it was forced to suspend “most” operations due to the power outage and said it was “unable to process flights.”

Its partner Air France said at 10:36 a.m. UK time (5:46 a.m. ET) that there had been “disruption” to operations, excluding flights already en route, and that it would share further updates soon.

A spokesman said there would be minimal disruption to flights to and from Berlin operated by Lufthansa; however, low-cost German airline Eurowings, part of the same group, said it expected to operate due to check-in and boarding issues. Flights are experiencing delays and cancellations throughout the day.

Swiss air navigation service provider Skyguide said it had reduced capacity for Swiss transit traffic by 30% as a precautionary measure following the disruption.

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration has imposed ground stops on the following flights: American, delta and Unity Friday morning.

“The FAA is closely monitoring technical issues affecting U.S. airlines’ IT systems,” the FAA said in a statement. “Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops for their fleets, until the problem is resolved.”

American Airlines said it was able to “safely resume operations” as of 5 a.m. ET. Delta Air Lines said its flights have been suspended and affected customers will be contacted via the Fly Delta app and text messages.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both said they expected some flight disruptions on Friday.

Friday, July 19 is set to be the busiest day for flights this year, with the number of daily departures reaching the highest level since October 2019 (3,214), according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Cirium said 1,078 flights had been canceled globally as of 10am in London, a figure that could change throughout the day.

London Gatwick and Heathrow airports both said they were using backup systems to continue operations but expected delays. Gatwick Airport said the issues involved “some airlines’ check-in systems, baggage and security, including eGates”.

Singapore Changi Airport stated that the self-service check-in system is not functioning properly and the check-in process needs to be managed manually. Singapore Airlines said its flights are currently operating as planned.

Cathay Pacific said its self-service check-in facilities at Hong Kong International Airport have been restored after a technical outage.

“The facial recognition feature at Hong Kong International Airport’s baggage check-in facilities remains unavailable. If you are traveling with checked baggage, please allow additional time for document checks,” the airline said.

— Leslie Josephs and Carlo Angler Contributed reporting.