Global IT outage: How flights and travel have been impacted in Canada
If you have travel plans today, prepare yourself: it might get hectic due to a global IT outage that has brought parts of the world to a standstill.
The technology outage stems from an incident at CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm used by companies and services around the world.
In an X post on Friday, President and CEO George Kurtz assured people that it was not “a security incident or cyberattack,” but instead due to a defect in an update to computers running Microsoft Windows.
“The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” said Kurtz.
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
Still, airports across the country have reported possible impacts due to the global IT outage.
Toronto Pearson Airport says as of now, Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Flair operations haven’t been affected.
However, they have experienced issues with major American airlines like Delta, American and United.
“Travellers may notice the terminals are busier than normal this morning as we anticipate connecting 135,000 passengers today,” reads a post on X. “Please direct inquiries about flight status to your specific airline.”
We are continuing to work with our airline partners as the global IT outage impacts some airlines.
Travellers may notice the terminals are busier than normal this morning as we anticipate connecting 135,000 passengers today.
Please direct inquiries about flight status to your… pic.twitter.com/wP2QkOpfsi
— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) July 19, 2024
Porter Airlines has confirmed that it is cancelling flights until noon EST on Friday due to the global IT outage. It advises passengers to visit its site for more information and updates.
Porter is cancelling flights until 12 p.m. ET, for July 19, 2024, due to third-party systems outages affecting global industries. Visit https://t.co/1IdMdjaOrV for more information and updates. We’re working to return service asap.
— Porter Airlines (@porterairlines) July 19, 2024
United Airlines says some of its flights have been resumed, but travellers may still experience delays. It has issued a waiver for passengers who want to change their travel plans.
A third-party outage is impacting computer systems, including at United and many other organizations worldwide.
As we work to fully restore these systems, some flights are resuming. Many customers traveling today may experience delays.
We have issued a waiver to make it easier…
— United Airlines (@united) July 19, 2024
Delta has also issued a travel waiver and says that some of its flights have been resumed.
American Airlines says it has been able to safely re-establish its operations in a post on X.
The Calgary International Airport advises travellers to check with their airline for flight updates.
“The global IT outage is causing disruptions for some airlines,” it posted on X.
The global IT outage is causing disruptions for some airlines. If you’re travelling or picking up loved ones, please check with your airline for flight updates.
— YYC (@FlyYYC) July 19, 2024
The Edmonton International Airport and the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport have also issued a similar alert on X.
A global IT outage is currently causing disruptions to some airlines. Flight delays and cancellations may occur. Passengers are advised to contact their airline directly for the most up-to-date information.
— Edmonton International Airport (@FlyYEG) July 19, 2024
In an email to Daily Hive, a spokesperson for the Vancouver International Airport says the outage is affecting some airlines, the majority being US carriers.
“As a result, air travel worldwide is impacted today, including some flights to and from YVR. Operations at YVR are otherwise not affected,” they said.
The spokesperson advised passengers to check their flight status with their airline before coming to the airport.
If you’re travelling by land, you might encounter delays at border crossings too.
“Please note that there are currently long delays at both the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge due to the worldwide Microsoft outage,” alerted Windsor Police on X.
“Earlier today, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) experienced a partial systems outage of its telephone reporting system. This issue is now resolved,” said the Canada Border Services Agency.
“Telephone reporting is a system primarily used by small aircraft passengers and boaters.”
It advises travellers to check land crossing wait times here.
How did the tech outage affect your travel plans today? Email us at [email protected] for a possible story.
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