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Photograph ©2007 by Brian Cohen.

Flights Grounded by Worldwide Information Technology Outage 2024: Travel Alert

When this outage will be completely fixed is not yet certain at this time...

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…

…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.

a screenshot of a computer
Source: Google Flights.

Curiously, Southwest Airlines has not been affected by the information technology outage.

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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:

The official Internet web site of Allegiant Air is not even functional at this time.

a blue and white sign with white text
Source: Allegiant Air.

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.

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