See which airlines are grounding flights today thanks to the Microsoft outage
Editor’s note: Check out our oft-updated live blog for all new and latest developments about the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage
UPDATE: Jul. 19, 2024, 10:03 a.m. UTC Latest updates from airlines have been added here. We’ll continue to update this story as more updates come through.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled, with others delayed, following a global Windows outage, reportedly caused by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on Friday. Around 4,300 flights had been canceled worldwide by noon, eastern time, aviation analytics firm Cirium told NBC News.
As computer systems crashed around the world, people not only came face to face with Microsoft’s BSOD (the “blue screen of death”) but businesses including airlines saw their systems go down. Reports of delays at airports from Los Angeles to Bangkok, London to Hong Kong, Mumbai to Madrid, Singapore to Melbourne, Berlin and more are pouring in on social media and through direct messages from the airlines.
While Microsoft and CrowdStrike have acknowledged the outage and are reportedly working on it, there’s the colossal issue of thousands of travellers wondering whether their flight has been cancelled or not.
The official X (formerly Twitter) account of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration posted on Friday morning it was “closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines” and suggested people monitor the FAA’s website for updates.
Just take a look at this staggering visual of a 12-hour timelapse showing plane traffic over the U.S., shared Friday by Morning Brew:
Here’s a list of affected airlines and their latest update. Check your email for any direct updates from the airline.
Which airlines are grounding flights today for the Microsoft outage?
Aegean Airlines
Greek airline Aegean posted on X at 5:44 a.m. ET Friday saying the airline was relatively unaffected, however “due to the problems affecting the global chain and support systems, certain services on our site have been affected. Additionally, our flights to airports whose operations have been impacted may be subject to changes. Our passengers can be informed through all official company channels.”
Later at 8:30 a.m. ET, the airline posted, “There may be delays at checkpoints and flights, following the technical problem that continues to affect air transport worldwide, it is recommended that you arrive at the airport on time and well in advance of your scheduled departure time.”
Air France
France’s major airline posted in a now-deleted tweet on X on Friday morning, “Following a global IT issue notably affecting several airlines and airports around the world, our operations are disrupted. Flights already en route are not affected. Access to the Customer relations call centers may however be disrupted. The Air France app and the http://AirFrance.com websites work normally.”
The airline tweeted again at 7:48 a.m. ET, “Our operations remain close to normal, at this stage only certain flights to Amsterdam and Berlin are disrupted. Other flights are departing and arriving normally, but delays cannot be ruled out.”
Allegiant
CNN and the New York Times reported U.S. airline Allegiant had warned of problems with check-ins, bookings and boarding passes, however there were no statements from the airline on social media at the time of first publishing.
At 8:32 a.m. ET on Friday, the airline tweeted an update: “A third party software system outage is impacting computer systems around the world, including Allegiant’s. Customers may experience delays when booking, checking in or accessing boarding passes.”
Akasa Airlines
Indian budget airline Akasa Airlines reported issues on Friday morning on X at 2:17 a.m. ET. “Due to infrastructure issues with our service provider, some of our online services, including booking, check-in and manage booking services will be temporarily unavailable. Currently we are following manual check-in and boarding processes at the airports and hence request passengers with immediate travel plans to reach the airport early to check-in at our counters.”
American Airlines
American Airlines posted at 5:46 a.m. ET on X on Friday morning of “a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5:00 a.m. ET, we have been able to safely re-establish our operation.”
Binter
Spanish airline Binter posted an update on Friday morning at 6:11 a.m. ET on X, flagging information from airport operator Aena in the post. “A worldwide technical incident is affecting all airport systems. According to information from AENA, all airports are operational, but in some processes they operate more slowly. If you are going to fly today, check the status of your flight.”
Delta
At 3:54 a.m. ET, U.S. airline Delta posted a statement on its website reading, “All Delta flights are paused as we work through a vendor technology issue.
“Any customers whose flights are impacted will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and text message. Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates.”
At 7:49 a.m. ET, Delta posted another statement with details of a travel waiver, and pointed passengers to the airline’s website or the app for updates.
“Delta has resumed some flight departures after a vendor technology issue impacted several airlines and businesses around the world. That issue necessitated a pause in Delta’s global flight schedule this morning while it was addressed. Additional delays and cancelations are expected Friday,” the statement reads.
“Delta has issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing Friday, July 19. It allows customers to manage their own travel changes via delta.com and the Fly Delta app. The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before July 24, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. If travel is rebooked after July 24, any difference in fare between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking.”
Frontier
U.S. budget airline Frontier briefly grounded its flights on Thursday but lifted the pause 35 minutes later, according to the New York Times. The airline posted on X on Thursday night at 8:03 p.m. ET, “Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted.”
IndiGo
Indian budget airline IndiGo posted on X on Friday at 6:32 a.m. ET of “a network-wide issue with Microsoft Azure, causing delays at airports. Check-ins may be slower and queues longer.”
Jetstar
Australian budget airline Jetstar posted on X on Friday at 5:40 a.m. ET that it was “currently impacted by a global software issue that’s impacted airlines and other businesses around the world. We’re working with our providers to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.”
In a statement on Jetstar’s website, the airline wrote in more detail:
“As a result of the outage, all Jetstar Airways flights have been cancelled until 2am local time Saturday 20 July. The IT outage is impacting multiple Jetstar systems, including the system we use to contact customers and we sincerely apologise for the frustration this is causing,” the statement reads.
“Our teams are working on recovery options and we will contact customers with updates as soon as our systems are back online. If you’re due to travel today or tomorrow, but no longer wish to travel, we’re offering free moves (+7 days from date of travel) or voucher refunds. Please contact us via LiveChat to discuss your options.”
KLM
Dutch airline KLM posted on X at 4:28 a.m. ET Friday that it had been one of the airlines “affected by a global computer outage, making flight handling impossible. We realise that this is very inconvenient for our customers and staff, particularly in the midst of the summer holiday season. We’re working hard to resolve the problem. Until then, we will have to largely suspend operations.”
At 7:10 a.m. ET, the airline posted an update saying, “KLM has announced that limited air traffic is currently possible, following a global computer outage affecting airlines, airports and others. Customers should expect delays and cancellations. We urge passengers to stay away from the airport if their flight is not departing or is seriously delayed.”
Qantas
Australian airline Qantas announced flight issues on Friday at 7:10 a.m. ET and pointed travellers to the website, posting on X, “Some Qantas flights have been delayed due to a global software outage that has impacted airlines and other businesses around the world. We’re working with our providers to resolve the issues and get our customers on their way as quickly as possible.
Ryanair
European budget airline Ryanair also posted an update on Friday morning to travellers letting them know of service disruption and advising that those checked in could still access their boarding passes.
“We’re currently experiencing disruption across the network due to a Global 3rd party IT outage which is out of our control. We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time,” the airline tweeted. If you’re due to travel today and have not already checked-in for your flight, you can do so at the airport.”
Later on Friday at 9:02 a.m. ET, Ryanair posted another update about cancelled flights: “Unfortunately, we’ve been forced to cancel a small number of flights today (19 July) due to this Global 3rd party IT outage. Affected passengers have been notified and are advised to log into their myRyanair account.”
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines posted on X on Friday at 4:31 a.m. ET that “services at the ION service centre in Singapore and our reservation hotlines are currently experiencing technical issues due to a global IT system outage. There is currently no impact on SIA flights, which are operating as scheduled.” A few hours later at 6:57 a.m. ET, the airline tweeted that the services and phone lines “are now back to normal.”
“Customers who wish to make a new flight booking or amend an existing flight booking are advised to do so via the SIA website or SingaporeAir mobile app,” the first post recommended.
SpiceJet
Indian airline Spicejet posted on X of the outage at 4:43 a.m. ET Friday, and said it was “ensuring that all its flights scheduled for today will depart. We are working closely with airports and relevant authorities to minimize disruptions and ensure the safety and comfort of our passengers.”
Sun Country
Sun Country posted on X on Thursday evening at 8:04 p.m. ET, “One of our information vendors is experiencing a global outage affecting multiple airlines. As a result, some of our services are temporarily unavailable.”
Unfortunately through Friday morning, there’s been quite a few updates and cancellations since then, so keep an eye on the airline’s X feed. At 5:13 a.m. ET, Sun Country tweeted, “All Sun Country flights scheduled to depart before 7:00 am central time have been CANCELLED. Additional cancellations and delays are possible.”
At 8:25 a.m. ET, the airline said it was “expecting additional cancellations” and that its “ticket counter agents and customer service reps cannot rebook travel now, because of the downed systems. If you are traveling today, watch your emails from Sun Country about your flight status and cancellations.”
The latest at 9:40 a.m. ET: “For customers at the airport experiencing cancellations, we cannot rebook you at this time at the ticket counter, via phone, or online while our systems continue to be down. Once the third-party systems come back online we can assist you.”
Swiss International
Swiss International Air Lines posted on X at 4:40 a.m. ET on Friday of “flight operations are affected due to IT disruptions at partner organizations and air traffic control” and directed passengers to the website to check flight status.
TAP Air Portugal
Portugal’s TAP Air posted on X on Friday of the outage at 4:42 a.m. ET, writing, “TAP alerts its Customers to possible consequences of this situation on air traffic and airports.”
Turkish Airlines
Turkey’s major airline tweeted news of cancelled flights on Friday morning at 6:43 a.m. ET and directed travellers to the Turkish Airlines website to check flight status: “Due to the global technical issue, some of our flights have been canceled. Our passengers can follow the status of the flights via our website and mobile application.”
Later at 7:37 a.m. ET the airline posted, “In line with the additional rights granted and flight cancellations, our passengers with domestic tickets can change their tickets or make refunds via our website or mobile application.” Then at 9:58 a.m. ET, Turkish Airlines posted another tweet, stating, “We are working continuously to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We kindly ask you to complete your transactions later.”
United
U.S. airline United Airlines posted at 6:26 a.m. ET on Friday that “some flights are resuming” after the outage caused delays, and the company had “issued a waiver to make it easier to change your travel plans at http://United.com or the United app”.
Vueling
Spanish budget airline Vueling posted on X at at 6:49 a.m. ET on Friday of the outages, and directed passengers to the website to check their flights: “We inform you that, due to the global outage of computer systems, our operations are being affected. We are working to minimize the impact on our customers. If your flight is affected, we will inform you by email…We recommend not going to the airport in case of cancellation and waiting to receive all the information by email.”
Wizz Air
European airline Wizz Air posted on X at 5:02 a.m. ET on Friday urging customers to arrive three hours early at the airport, though systems appear working.
Which airports are totally closed?
While most airports are still open, just experiencing major delays, there are some that have completely or partially closed in the U.S. including Boston Logan International Airport, Aspen Airport, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, and more. You can keep track of airport closures through the FAA’s website.
When will flights resume?
While we don’t know exactly when the flights will resume, it seems a few have already seen operations back on track. We’ll update the above airlines when more information is available, and you might get direct emails from the airline if you’re a passenger.
This story is developing…
