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Massive IT Glitch Grounds US Flights, Stranding Thousands of Passengers

Massive IT Glitch Grounds US Flights, Stranding Thousands of Passengers

Last Updated on 20/07/2024 by wccexam Desk

A 12-hour timelapse video has dramatically captured the scale of disruption caused by a global IT outage, highlighting the complete shutdown of air traffic systems across the United States. The footage reveals a chaotic period where flights for major airlines like American Airlines, Delta, and United were grounded, leaving passengers stranded from America to Berlin, Hong Kong, and beyond.

The incident was triggered by a failed tech update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which resulted in the complete shutdown of major healthcare, airline, and banking sectors around the world. While CrowdStrike claims the issue has been identified, it remains unclear how long it will take to resolve the problem and restore normal operations.

The timelapse, provided by flight tracking website Flightradar24, shows a drastic reduction in plane traffic for the three major US airlines starting late Thursday night (UTC 00:00) and continuing through Friday morning. By 8 a.m. ET on Friday, nearly 1,700 flights had been canceled, accounting for 6.3% of the airlines’ scheduled US service for the day.

Tech expert Troy Hunt, an Australian Microsoft regional manager, tweeted early in the chaos that it was “not too soon to declare this the largest IT outage in history.” George Kurtz, the CEO of CrowdStrike, acknowledged the company was working to resolve the issues for customers affected by the bug in a recent Windows update.

Airports across the United States were overwhelmed with stranded passengers, with major hubs like LaGuardia and JFK in New York canceling dozens of flights and delaying over 100 more. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closely monitored the situation, assisting airlines with ground stops until the issue could be resolved.

As the travel chaos unfolded, airlines and airports struggled to communicate with passengers, with some resorting to handwritten boarding passes due to the IT glitch. The incident serves as a stark reminder of the critical role technology plays in modern air travel and the potential for widespread disruption when systems fail.