A worldwide technology outage affected airports around the world Friday, including in South Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that several airlines requested their assistance Friday morning with ground stops for their fleets until the issue was resolved.
One man Local 10 reporter Hannah Yechivi spoke with at Miami International Airport said he had a Frontier flight scheduled for Thursday that had been severely delayed.
“We were here since yesterday at about 2 p.m., so they just pretty much said, ‘Hey, just make it on your own,’” he said.
That passenger, who was trying to head home to Atlanta, said he eventually left and then went back to the airport Friday morning, but some other passengers were forced to stay at the airport overnight.
“You know, it’s not the idea of me being stuck here yesterday, but people sleep on the floor, there’s kids, there’s families, they’ve been here since yesterday at 2 o’clock, and that’s why I’m thinking they should try to look into the marketing team, should look at something to make it better for everybody,” the man said, adding that he didn’t believe it was right not to offer passengers vouchers or discounts to stay at hotels due to the flight disruptions.
A spokesperson for MIA said in an email to Local 10 News confirmed Friday morning that the outage was delaying departures and arrivals at the airport. The spokesperson advised passengers to contact their airlines about their flight status prior to arriving at the airport, “so they can make other travel arrangements if necessary.”
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said that the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack — and that a fix was on the way. The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows.
Over at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Local 10 reporter Saira Anwer saw long lines of passengers trying to speak with airline employees to get an update on their flight status.
She reported that many passengers were confused, not knowing what exactly was happening and if the issue would be resolved quickly or if they would be forced to be at the airport all day.
“They’re telling us that they’re going to try to get us all on, but they’re not sure if we’re going to make it and they’re going to pull us out by priority,” one Delta passenger who was heading to Utah said. “So hopefully we’re one of the next ones they expedite to the front.”
Anwer reported that despite the outage, passengers were still able to check in their bags around 6 a.m. and pass through TSA.
“To be honest, I’m just optimistic that maybe I’ll get on my flight on time,” one passenger said.
Southwest Airlines confirmed that they were not affected by the outage.
American, United, Frontier and Delta Airlines all experienced outages Friday morning and are in the process of resuming flight operations.
We have issued a travel waiver for our customers impacted by the vendor technology issue earlier this morning. You can check https://t.co/rZn1O8tOMy or the American Airlines app for the latest updates. https://t.co/lZNTwQOYlI
— americanair (@AmericanAir) July 19, 2024
United confirmed that some flights have already resumes, but passengers should expect schedule disruptions throughout the day.
Trains and buses in South Florida were not affected by the technology outage.
For the latest flight updates at MIA, click here.
For the latest flight updates at FLL, click here.
For the latest updates from the FAA, visit https://nasstatus.faa.gov/.
HOSPITALS
UHealth confirmed that the organization experienced “connectivity issues across various applications, including UChart,” due to the outage.
“The outage did not compromise our data’s security and confidentiality,” UHealth confirmed in a statement posted to Facebook.
All UHealth hospitals and clinics remain open Friday, however patients might experience some delays.
Those with additional IT-related questions or concerns may contact the UHealth/Miller School IT Service Desk at 305-243-5999 or help@med.miami.edu.
Memorial Regional and Broward Health said their systems were not impacted by the outage.
Florida’s Turnpike Service Plazas
The Florida Department of Transportation confirmed that service plazas along Florida’s Turnpike “are experiencing a service disruption that has affected onsite ATM’s, and the ability to accept credit card payments.”
Services are currently available for purchase with cash, although gas stations are not affected.
Law enforcement agencies
The following law enforcement agencies have confirmed to Local 10 News that their services have NOT been impacted: Broward Sheriff’s Office, Coral Gables Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department.
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