Global IT Outage Grounds Thousands of Flights, Disrupts Banks, Hospitals, and Media

A major IT outage has affected online systems and businesses across the globe, from banks and media companies to hospitals and airlines, resulting in thousands of flights being grounded worldwide.

According to Cirium data, 1,390 flights were canceled worldwide as of 6:00 AM Eastern Time, including 512 flights out of the United States, with the number set to grow significantly throughout the day.

As of 9:00 AM Eastern Time, the number of flights canceled has grown to more than 2,160 worldwide, including more than 1,250 within, into, or out of the U.S., according to data from FlightAware. Over 2,600 flights in the U.S. have also been delayed out of more than 22,000 flight delays worldwide.

12-hour timelapse of American Airlines, Delta, and United plane traffic after what was likely the biggest IT outage in history forced a nationwide ground stop of the three airlines. pic.twitter.com/wwcQeiEtVe

— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 19, 2024

Almost every major airline has been affected, including American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, with the outage causing widespread issues at airports, especially for passengers checking in and passing through security.

There have been numerous reports that information screens at airports have been showing the dreaded ‘blue screen of death’ – a critical error screen that Microsoft users are presented with when their system crashes.

The outage and subsequent delays and cancellations have led to tens of thousands of passengers being stranded across the country, with long queues and crowded gates reported at numerous airports, including New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.

With the summer travel season underway, this major technical failure could hardly have come at a worse time for airlines and passengers alike. Cirium says up to 3.7 million passengers are expected to fly across 27,000 scheduled flights in the U.S. today, including more than 24,000 domestic flights. Worldwide, there are around 110,00 flights scheduled.

“The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted on its social media channels. “Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops until the issue is resolved.

In Canada, more than 3,500 flights are scheduled to depart, carrying up to 444,000 passengers. As of 6:00 AM Eastern Time, 21 outbound flights had been canceled, with many more delayed.

Airports and airlines in Europe have also been affected. Germany, Italy, and France had seen 92, 45, and 28 departing flights canceled as of 6:00 AM Eastern Time. Collectively, these three major travel markets were expecting more than 2 million passengers today. Issues have also been reported in the UK, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, among other places.

Photo: Courtesy of Denver International Airport.

The mass outage was first reported early on Friday morning and quickly spread worldwide, although early fears of a cyber attack were quickly dismissed.

It has now been confirmed that the outage was caused by issues with a software update at cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike. The company has admitted that a fault related to an update to its Falcon antivirus software – used by many companies to protect Microsoft Windows devices from malicious attacks – was behind the problem.

“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts,” said George Kurtz, CEO of CrowdStrike. “This is not a security incident or cyberattack.”

Major airlines were also quick to respond to the disruption. Delta initially grounded its global fleet and has since issued a travel waiver to all its passengers booked on a flight today, while American Airlines claimed to have quickly resolved its issues and apologized to customers. United, meanwhile, said it has resumed ‘some flights’ but warned of further delays throughout the day.