Saturday, July 20, 2024 A global IT outage on Friday canceled thousands of flights and forced several airlines to request ground stops, throwing travel into chaos. The IT glitch triggered worldwide flight chaos, leaving passengers stranded and frustrated. Airports descended into disarray as airlines struggled with the sudden failure.
Travelers faced delays, cancellations, and confusion. Airlines issued waivers and worked to fix the issue, while passengers sought alternative routes. This incident highlighted the aviation industry’s dependence on technology and raised questions about future contingency plans.
Flight Cancellations and Delays By late Friday morning, more than 1,600 flights originating in the United States had been canceled, and over 3,800 were canceled globally. Delta Air Lines faced the most cancellations with over 760, followed by American Airlines with more than 380, and United Airlines with over 350. Several airlines, including Delta, United, American, and Spirit, issued flight waivers due to the tech outage.
Over 5,000 flights experienced delays within, into, or out of the U.S., affecting airports worldwide, including those in China, France, and the Netherlands, according to FlightAware.
Response from Airlines and Authorities The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated on X that several airlines had requested assistance with ground stops and confirmed that they were closely monitoring the technical issue. Delta Air Lines resumed some flights after add.