An IT outage caused chaos for air passengers globally on Friday, with major carriers in the U.S. like American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines issuing ground stops for their flights due to communication problems. The sensitive timing nature of the aviation sector meant that even a few-minute delay could throw off schedules for the rest of the day. Passengers faced delays, cancellations, and issues checking in as airports and airlines grappled with the massive outage affecting various industries. FlightAware reported over 2,600 cancellations and 9,200 delays by 5 p.m. ET. However, most airlines managed to resume operations eventually, although disruptions continued throughout the day.
The cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike attributed the global tech outage to a defect in a Microsoft Windows update. This caused issues with various airline systems, such as aircraft weight calculations, customer check-ins, and call center phone systems. Airlines like United Airlines paused departures overnight but resumed flights on Friday, working diligently to get customers to their destinations.
Travelers were advised to contact their airlines and monitor the FAA’s website for updates as intermittent ground stops and delays were expected. Airlines offered waivers for affected passengers, such as rebooking flexibility and refunds for cancellations due to the outage. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to offer refunds for canceled flights, with additional compensation possible for delays within the airline’s control. Passengers experiencing long delays should inquire about meal or hotel compensation. Each airline handles compensation differently for significant delays, with passengers able to file claims for delayed flights to request compensation.
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