Delta Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines were among the countless companies impacted by a massive IT outage that resulted in almost 2,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States getting canceled on Friday, July 19. Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, remains unaffected.
According to Flight Aware, the widespread IT outages impacting companies relying on Microsoft-based computers have led to a large increase in flight delays and cancellations. There have been over 5,000 delays to flights within, into, or out of the United States, and there have been at least 1,979 cancellations. Delta is the airline worst impacted by the outages, with over 600 cancellations, followed by American Airlines and United with over 300. Other airlines impacted include Endeavor Air, Spirit, KLM, Turkish Airlines, and Ryanair.
Delta, United, and American Airlines released statements apologizing to customers for the disruptions.
Southwest Airlines appeared to be business as usual on Friday, however, the widespread IT outage did not impact them as it did the other major airlines.
Some social media users joked it was because the company is running on antiquated technology, as was evidenced in 2021 when the company was forced to ground all of its flights due to computer issues. On top of that, the airline canceled over 1,800 flights during a single weekend later that same year. In 2022, the carrier canceled almost 17,000 flights during the Christmas and New Year's holiday period.
As reported by ABC News, the IT outages have had a big impact on hospitals, banks, and stock exchanges among other major institutions. According to American cybersecurity technology firm CrowdStrike, the outage was not the result of a cyber attack and was caused by a software issue that has since been addressed with a fix. Some of the systems impacted will be up immediately, while others could take "hours" according to CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz.
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Among the institutions experiencing issues is the Department of Justice, which informed businesses and government officials of the outages. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was also hit by the outages. It's not just air travel, either, as New York City's mass transit system and the D.C. Metro system were impacted.
"We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services," said Microsoft in a statement.
