Global IT outage causes chaos at LAX, leading to thousands of flight cancellations

From CNBC: 2024-07-21 05:50:36

On July 19, 2024, a global technology outage impacted LAX airport, leading to flight cancellations and delays at the United Airlines terminal. Over 2,800 flights were canceled on Saturday, with more than 2,100 in the U.S. and over 8,600 U.S. flights delayed.

The chaos was caused by a major outage sparked by a Crowdstrike software update that affected Microsoft systems worldwide. Delta Air Lines canceled about 36% of its Saturday flights, while American Airlines recovered the fastest, canceling just 44 flights on Saturday.

United Airlines saw about 15% of its mainline flights canceled on Saturday, down from 22% the day before. Customers impacted by flight cancellations are entitled to refunds for expenses like meals or hotels, depending on the airline’s policy.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg clarified that customers should receive a refund for canceled flights instead of just flight credits. Airlines are working to restore normal operations after the global IT outage disrupted travel nationwide.



Read more at CNBC: Flight cancellations persist after IT outage