Since late last night, Thursday, July 18, 2024, airlines have suffered their flights grounded by worldwide information technology outage 2024, causing passengers to be substantially delayed or stranded.
Flights Grounded by Worldwide Information Technology Outage 2024: Travel Alert
The outage was reportedly caused by a software update by CrowdStrike, which is a cybersecurity company that develops software to help companies detect and block “hacks” by nefarious entities; and is based in Austin in Texas. In addition to airlines, companies in such industries as financial and healthcare have also suffered from disruptions in their services.
A fix to the problem has reportedly been issued, according to this official message from George Kurtz, who is the founder and chief executive officer of CrowdStrike…
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We…
— George Kurtz (@George_Kurtz) July 19, 2024
…but that is no immediate solace to passengers who are either delayed or stranded due to flights which have been either delayed or canceled.
At the time this article was written, the following Statement on Falcon Content Update for Windows Hosts appeared at the official Internet web site of CloudStrike:
CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.
The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.
We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.
Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.
Update 9:22am ET, July 19, 2024:
We are working hard to provide comprehensive and continuous updates with our global customers as quickly as possible. Below is the latest CrowdStrike Tech Alert with more information about the issue and workaround steps organizations can take. We will keep this page updated with new information as it’s available.
The following warning appears at Google Flights when researching flight information:
Limited flight results
Some of our flight booking partners are experiencing technical issues right now. Please exercise caution while booking.
Curiously, Southwest Airlines has not been affected by the information technology outage.
8:12am The crowd continues to grow. Southwest Airlines is not impacted by this outage here at the BWI Airport. Airport staff is now starting to bring out water and cookies for travelers who have been camped out here since last night. @wjz pic.twitter.com/y6sMRAqbiv
— Alexus Davila (@AlexusVDavila) July 19, 2024
I thought that this was funny…
I really think Southwest Airlines could have been nicer about this. pic.twitter.com/pGysfTRdzj
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) July 19, 2024
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
Flight Waivers, Delays, and Cancellations
If you are traveling anywhere in the world over the next few days, expect delays and cancellations of flights. Keep up to date on the latest information pertaining to this information technology outage which may adversely affect your travel plans. Better yet, postponing or canceling your trip might be a better option — no matter which mode of travel you plan on taking.
If you have a flight scheduled, your flight may be delayed or canceled — and you may be eligible for a waiver of a fee to change your itinerary.
Here are seven airlines which have issued travel alerts as a result of this information technology outage:
- American Airlines has issued travel alerts for eleven airports in ten states for Friday, July 19, 2024; and Thursday, July 25, 2024 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- Delta Air Lines has issued travel alerts for all tickets that were issued on or before Friday, July 19, 2024 for Friday, July 19, 2024; and Wednesday, July 24, 2024 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- United Airlines has issued travel alerts for airports in the United Kingdom, Germany, Guam, and ten airports in nine states in the United States for Friday, July 19, 2024; and Thursday, July 25, 2024 is the last day on which tickets must be reissued and rebooked travel must begin.
- Frontier Airlines has issued travel alerts for all airports systemwide for Friday, July 19, 2024.
- Spirit Airlines has issued travel alerts for all airports systemwide for Friday, July 19, 2024 through Saturday, July 20, 2024.
- Sun Country Airlines has issued travel alerts for numerous flights for Friday, July 19, 2024.
- Air Canada has issued travel alerts for Calgary, Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver for Friday, July 19, 2024.
The official Internet web site of Allegiant Air is not even functional at this time.
Final Boarding Call
No one knows for certain when this worldwide information technology outage 2024 will be fixed and travel will return back to normal; so be sure to contact your airline or transportation provider for the latest information pertaining to your travels — and please: travel safely.
Photograph ©2007 by Brian Cohen.
