Starting early this morning, a “single content update” that contained a “defect” was sent to Microsoft Windows based hosts around the world, Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike told Reuters. Travelers have been impacted by a global IT outage that resulted, caused delays, cancellations and problems for airports and airlines.
Early results, according to Flight Aware, show that over 18,000 flights worldwide have been delayed and another 1,655 canceled as of 7:45am EDT. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was “closely monitoring the situation.”
Reuters.com reported that Microsoft officials revealed that some users experienced issues accessing various Office 365 apps and services due to a “configuration change in a portion of our Azure-backed workloads.”
In the United States, several major air carriers have reported technical issues and issued temporary ground stops Friday morning due to “communication problems,” including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
Airports and airlines are advising travelers to check the status of their flights online before arriving at the airport and, if their flight is still scheduled, arrive earlier than planned to deal with any potential delays.
At some international airports, airlines have reverted to their manual check-in process to avoid flight operation interruptions, but many facilities reported being back online a short time later.
