MIAMI – Travelers packed Miami International and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International on Friday after dozens of flights were delayed or canceled, part of a massive debacle impacting businesses worldwide.
“A global Microsoft system outage affecting all airlines is currently delaying departures and arrivals at Miami International Airport,” a statement from the airport said Friday morning. “Passengers are urged to contact their airline to confirm their flight status before coming to MIA this morning so they can make other travel arrangements if necessary.”
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport posted on X, “An early morning systemwide technology issue is impacting some airline and passenger processing operations at U.S. airports, including #FLL. Flight delays are expected, so travelers should check with their airline for updated flight status before coming to #FLL.”
Just after 5 a.m., American Airlines had some good news for its passengers.
“Earlier this morning, a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5 a.m., we have been able to safely re-establish our operation. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” according to the statement.
United Airlines also updated its status.
“A third-party software outage impacted computer systems worldwide, including at United. We are resuming some flights but expect schedule disruptions to continue throughout Friday. We have issued a waiver to make it easier for customers to change their travel plans via United.com or the United app,” according to the airline.
Just before 8:30 a.m. Spirit Airlines posted on X that the outage was impacting its reservation system.
“A third-party vendor is experiencing a global technology outage that is impacting Spirit’s reservations system and impacting flight operations. We apologize to our Guests for the inconvenience. We encourage Guests traveling today, July 19, to check here for updates before going to the airport. Due to the outage, we are currently unable to rebook Guests whose travel plans have been disrupted. We will assist these Guests as soon as possible when our vendor restores service.”
As of mid-Friday morning, more than a thousand flights into, out of or within the United States had been canceled, according to FlightAware.com.
Around 10:30 a.m., the FAA issued an update.
“The FAA continues to work closely with airlines as they work to resume normal operations. Ground stops and delays will be intermittent at various airports as the airlines work through residual technology issues. Please contact the airlines for more information.”
The Microsoft outage brought Frontier Airlines to a standstill for hours on Thursday — although the ground stop for the airline has since been lifted.
Earlier Thursday, Frontier said its systems had been impacted by the outage, and offered refunds to inconvenienced passengers.
Other competitors including Allegiant and SunCountry also said they were having difficulties, including with their booking, check-in and trip-managing functions online.
A number of international airlines also reported tech disruptions on Friday, including Virgin Australia and Qantas, along with airports across Europe and Asia-Pacific.
