Outage tips

Friday's IT outage caused widespread disruptions after Microsoft reported problems with its online services, linked to an issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Ahmed Al Sharif, 32, the CTO of Sandsoft, a game developer. Al Sharif was stranded at Barcelona airport on Friday because of the IT outage disrupting travel and other services. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

It was the content update nobody needed. When cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued an update to systems throughout the world running Microsoft Windows, scheduled to take place overnight from Thursday to Friday, those systems crashed. The result has been a tangled web of canceled and delayed flights, among numerous other business disruptions.

A global IT outage on Friday canceled thousands of flights and forced several airlines to request ground stops, throwing travel into chaos.

A widespread outage of CrowdStrike, a major cybersecurity provider, has caused chaos in the U.S. aviation industry today, resulting in thousands of flight cancellations worldwide. The technical issue has affected multiple airlines and airports, leaving countless passengers stranded and scrambling to adjust their travel plans.

A massive IT outage hit flights and travel hard on Friday, leaving one passenger with very little to show for his trip to the airport.

Staff at several airports had to handwrite flight information on whiteboards due to a worldwide IT outage.

Major airlines, banks, hospitals, and retailers are experiencing widespread disruptions linked to an IT outage after Microsoft reported problems with its online services, linked to an issue at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

Editor note: This article has been updated with the latest information.

Major airlines have warned pilots they may be unable to communicate with ground services.

Airports across the United States slowly descended into chaos early Friday after a worldwide tech outage disrupted flights and stranded passengers.

Airlines around the world are grounding flights as a global IT outage impacts operations. Companies in the United States, UK, India, and Australia are among those badly affected. 

Many travelers from the United States lost a crucial tool to check maps, make reservations, use ride-hailing apps and more because of a cellular data outage that began affecting users of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon on Wednesday.

What caused the widespread outages at many of Expedia Group properties this weekend? The company initially attributed them to “maintenance” but provided a different explanation Monday:

United Airlines issued a ground stop on Tuesday afternoon, briefly pausing departures and disrupting flights across its network.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian made a call to action for more funding and investment in the U.S. air traffic control system after an outage Wednesday disrupted more than 11,000 flights across the country.

South Africa’s power crisis has gone from bad to worse, as ongoing blackouts since 2007 are now a daily occurrence, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Britain’s automated border control gates have returned to normal operation, the Home Office said on Saturday, after a nationwide system issue caused major delays.