Airlines begin to resume service after a massive global IT outage

Mass IT Outage Affects Travel, Businesses And Individual Users Across The Globe

Source: Hector Vivas / Getty

A massive IT outage is causing disruptions across the world, impacting flights, banks and other major institutions.

Amid the outage, the Federal Aviation Administration said that several airlines requested assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved. Many major airlines said they will offer travel vouchers this weekend, allowing passengers to adjust their itineraries without paying change fees.

FlightAware reported that nearly 1,300 U.S. flights have been canceled as of early Friday morning. Additionally, more than 2,900 flights have been delayed.

Even as service begins to resume this morning, United Airlines cautioned passengers that disruptions to service could last throughout the day. Delta said shortly before 8 a.m. ET that it is beginning to resume departures, but that additional delays are expected throughout Friday.

Also, numerous police departments across the U.S. have reported that the outage has affected their 911 service. Many police departments are encouraging the public to contact them via non-emergency lines until the outage is resolved.

Microsoft 365 said early Friday that services were starting to return to normal.