Over 1,000 flights have been cancelled, with others delayed, following a global Windows outage, reportedly caused by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on Friday.
As computer systems crashed around the world, people not only came face to face with Microsoft’s BSOD (the “blue screen of death”) but businesses including airlines saw their systems go down. Reports of delays at airports from Los Angeles to Bangkok, London to Hong Kong, Mumbai to Madrid, Singapore to Melbourne, Berlin and more are pouring in on social media and through direct messages from the airlines.
While Microsoft and CrowdStrike have acknowledged the outage and are reportedly working on it, there’s the colossal issue of thousands of travellers wondering whether their flight has been cancelled or not.
The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration posted on Friday morning it was “closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines” and suggested people monitor the FAA’s website for updates.
Here’s a list of affected airlines and their latest update. Check your email for any direct updates from the airline.
Which airlines are grounding flights today for the Microsoft outage?
Aegean Airlines
Greek airline Aegean posted on X on Friday saying the airline was relatively unaffected, however “due to the problems affecting the global chain and support systems, certain services on our site have been affected. Additionally, our flights to airports whose operations have been impacted may be subject to changes. Our passengers can be informed through all official company channels.”
Air France
France’s major airline posted on X on Friday, “Following a global IT issue notably affecting several airlines and airports around the world, our operations are disrupted. Flights already en route are not affected. Access to the Customer relations call centers may however be disrupted. The Air France app and the http://AirFrance.com websites work normally.”
Allegiant
CNN and the New York Times reported U.S. airline Allegiant has warned of problems with check-ins, bookings and boarding passes, however there are no statements from the airline on social media.
Akasa Airlines
Indian budget airline Akasa Airlines reported issues on Friday morning on X. “Due to infrastructure issues with our service provider, some of our online services, including booking, check-in and manage booking services will be temporarily unavailable. Currently we are following manual check-in and boarding processes at the airports and hence request passengers with immediate travel plans to reach the airport early to check-in at our counters.”
American Airlines
American Airlines posted on X on Friday morning of “a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5:00 a.m. ET, we have been able to safely re-establish our operation.”
Binter
Spanish airline Binter posted an update on Friday morning on X, flagging information from airport operator Aena in the post. “A worldwide technical incident is affecting all airport systems. According to information from AENA, all airports are operational, but in some processes they operate more slowly. If you are going to fly today, check the status of your flight.”
Delta
At 3:54 a.m. ET, U.S. airline Delta posted a statement on its website reading, “All Delta flights are paused as we work through a vendor technology issue.
“Any customers whose flights are impacted will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and text message. Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates.”
Frontier
U.S. budget airline Frontier briefly grounded its flights on Friday morning but lifted the pause 35 minutes later, according to the New York Times. The airline posted on X, “Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted.”
IndiGo
Indian budget airline IndiGo posted on X on Friday of “a network-wide issue with Microsoft Azure, causing delays at airports. Check-ins may be slower and queues longer.”
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Jetstar
Australian budget airline Jetstar posted on X on Friday it was “currently impacted by a global software issue that’s impacted airlines and other businesses around the world. We’re working with our providers to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.”
In a statement on Jetstar’s website, the airline wrote in more detail:
“As a result of the outage, all Jetstar Airways flights have been cancelled until 2am local time Saturday 20 July. The IT outage is impacting multiple Jetstar systems, including the system we use to contact customers and we sincerely apologise for the frustration this is causing,” the statement reads.
“Our teams are working on recovery options and we will contact customers with updates as soon as our systems are back online. If you’re due to travel today or tomorrow, but no longer wish to travel, we’re offering free moves (+7 days from date of travel) or voucher refunds. Please contact us via LiveChat to discuss your options.”
KLM
Dutch airline KLM posted on X it had been one of the airlines “affected by a global computer outage, making flight handling impossible. We realise that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season. We’re working hard to resolve the problem. Until then, we will have to largely suspend operations.”
Qantas
Australian airline Qantas announced flight issues on Friday and pointed travellers to the website, posting on X, “Some Qantas flights have been delayed due to a global software outage that has impacted airlines and other businesses around the world. We’re working with our providers to resolve the issues and get our customers on their way as quickly as possible.
Ryanair
European budget airline Ryanair also posted an update on Friday morning to travellers letting them know of service disruption and advising that those checked in could still access their boarding passes.
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“We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time,” the airline tweeted. If you’re due to travel today and have not already checked-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport.”
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines posted on X on Friday that “services at the ION service centre in Singapore and our reservation hotlines are currently experiencing technical issues due to a global IT system outage. There is currently no impact on SIA flights, which are operating as scheduled.” A few hours later, the airline tweeted that the services and phone lines “are now back to normal.”
“Customers who wish to make a new flight booking or amend an existing flight booking are advised to do so via the SIA website or SingaporeAir mobile app,” the first post recommended.
SpiceJet
Indian airline Spicejet posted on X of the outage, and it was “ensuring that all its flights scheduled for today will depart. We are working closely with airports and relevant authorities to minimize disruptions and ensure the safety and comfort of our passengers.”
Sun Country
Sun Country posted on X on Friday morning, “One of our information vendors is experiencing a global outage affecting multiple airlines. As a result, some of our services are temporarily unavailable.”
Swiss International
Swiss International Air Lines posted on X of “flight operations are affected due to IT disruptions at partner organizations and air traffic control” and directed passengers to the website to check flight status.
TAP Air Portugal
Portugal’s TAP Air posted on X on Friday of the outage, writing, “TAP alerts its Customers to possible consequences of this situation on air traffic and airports.”
Turkish Airlines
Turkey’s major airline tweeted news of cancelled flights on Friday morning and directed travellers to the Turkish Airlines website to check flight status: “Due to the global technical issue, some of our flights have been canceled. Our passengers can follow the status of the flights via our website and mobile application.”
United
U.S. airline United Airlines posted that “some flights are resuming” after the outage caused delays, and the company had “issued a waiver to make it easier to change your travel plans at http://United.com or the United app”.
Vueling
Spanish budget airline Vueling posted on Friday on X of the outages and directed passengers to the website to check their flights, “We inform you that, due to the global outage of computer systems, our operations are being affected. We are working to minimize the impact on our customers. If your flight is affected, we will inform you by email…We recommend not going to the airport in case of cancellation and waiting to receive all the information by email.”
Wizz Air
European airline Wizz Air posted on X urging customers to arrive three hours early at the airport, though systems appear working.
Which airports are totally closed?
While most airports are still open, just experiencing major delays, there are some that have completely or partially closed in the U.S. including Boston Logan International Airport, Aspen Airport, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, and more. You can keep track of airport closures through the FAA’s website.
When will flights resume?
While we don’t know exactly when the flights will resume, it seems a few have already seen operations back on track. We’ll update the above airlines when more information is available, and you might get direct emails from the airline if you’re a passenger.
This story is developing…
