Travel plans across the world were thrown into disarray on Friday, as a global technology outage disrupted businesses and services — including air travel — leaving thousands of flights canceled or delayed across the United States and beyond.
While service was slowly recovering by midmorning Eastern time, the ripple effect was still snarling travel plans as delayed and canceled flights created a buildup of passengers waiting at airports, and some planes and crews out of position.
“The anxiety is getting up a little,” said Adonis Ajayi, 35, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday morning. Mr. Ajayi was on his way to Key West, Fla., for a long weekend and said he had been checking social media constantly for flight updates — his flight had been delayed for nearly three hours. “I’ve never seen anything of this scale.”
The outage was caused by a flawed update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, whose software is used globally by scores of industries to protect Microsoft systems. Messages posted on social media by travelers worldwide showed flights grounded, some terminal monitors down and crowds of stranded passengers waiting at airport gates and customer service desks. Some passengers at one airport in India had to stand in long lines to obtain handwritten boarding passes.
Which airports have been hit the worst?
In the United States, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the world’s busiest airport, appeared to have the most flights affected by the outage on Friday morning, with more than 230 incoming and outgoing flights canceled and more than 370 flights delayed, according to FlightAware, a real-time flight tracker.
Many other airports, including hubs in New York, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C., also appeared to experience significant disruption.
Globally, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China had the most delays, amounting to 55 percent of its daily flights, according to FlightAware.
The outage also affected major airports across Europe. Several airlines at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam were unable to gain access to their check-in systems. The systems have since restarted, and the airport said it was working with airlines to “get all passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible.”
London’s busiest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, said they were using contingency systems to get around the outage but were still reporting major delays.
Hong Kong International Airport had to switch to manual check-in, but the airport reported that flight operations were not affected.
Which airlines are most affected?
In the United States, at least five carriers — Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines — temporarily grounded flights, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
As of about 10 a.m. Eastern, more than 400 Delta flights had been canceled, and roughly 500 flights had been delayed. American was reporting more than 300 flights canceled and roughly just as many delayed. More than 200 United flights had been canceled and roughly 370 were delayed, according to FlightAware.
The Dutch airline KLM canceled around 41 percent of flights on Friday, according to FlightAware. It has begun to recover, but advises passengers to check their flight status online before traveling. “We urge passengers not to come to the airport if their flight is not departing or is severely delayed,” the airline said in a statement.
U.S. airlines seem to slowly be resuming operations since the initial outage. Delta said in a statement posted on social media just before 8 a.m. Eastern that it had resumed some flight departures and American posted a statement at 5:46 a.m. saying that it had “safely re-established” its operations. United said that it was resuming some flights, but expected some disruptions to continue throughout the day, according to an alert posted on the airline’s app. But travelers can still expect to see some delays and potentially more cancellations.
Help! I’m flying today. What can I do?
If you are flying on Delta or United, they have both have issued flight waivers allowing passengers to rebook travel. Delta customers flying today can rebook to fly on or before July 24 without any additional fees. United customers departing from select airports, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Dulles International Airport, outside Washington, can reschedule their trips to depart on or before July 25.
What are my rights if my flight is delayed or canceled?
If your flight is delayed or canceled, you may be entitled to certain compensation — such airline-provided hotel or meal vouchers — that are explained on the Transportation Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard. But this hinges on whether or not the issue is within the carrier’s control, a question airlines are currently unclear on. A spokeswoman for Delta said the company was not offering hotel accommodations for stranded travelers at this time.
However, an agency spokesperson for the Transportation Department said the software outage is considered within airlines’ control and that airlines must follow through on their commitments to travelers, which may include complimentary ground transportation and accommodation for those affected by overnight cancellations.
Passengers’ rights can differ for international flights. For example, in the European Union, cancellations or long delays may give you the right to a refund, a replacement flight and financial compensation. Passengers on flights delayed overnight may receive reimbursement for food, accommodations and ground transportation. (Travelers should hold on to any receipts for costs incurred.)
Remind me, how do I check my flight status?
Travelers can usually check itineraries through the airline’s website or app, but some travelers on Friday reported difficulties rebooking through the Delta and United apps. Airline customer service can also be reached by phone, though travelers posting on social media said that they have not been able to reach agents.
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