NEW YORK — A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and government offices on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.
Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed around the world, leading to long lines at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the heart of the summer travel season. Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father’s emergency heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky was cancelled Friday morning because of the tech outage, leaving her family scared and worried.
The head of Germany’s IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said “we can’t expect a very quick solution.” A forecast for when exactly all systems will be up and running is difficult, but “it won’t be hours,” she added. Though the outage's impact could be felt far and wide, the forecasting firm Capital Economics said it was likely to have little impact on the world economy.Most airlines attributed the problems to their booking systems. Thousands of flights were affected in the U.S. alone, though by late morning on the East Coast airlines said they were beginning to mitigate problems and resume some service.
“We are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are at a standstill here for the time being,” Oettinghaus said.