Microsoft outage: Sarasota Bradenton Airport flights canceled, delayed; hospital affected
A major technology outage grounded flights, hampered public transit systems and disrupted operations at banks and hospitals around the globe Friday in an incident a cybersecurity firm blamed on a faulty system update.
It also had a serious impact on some services in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Are Sarasota Bradenton Airport flights canceled due to the Microsoft outage?
There have been 11 flights canceled and 17 flights delayed on Friday due to technology issues, according to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport spokesperson Emma Klostermeyer.
The cancelations include six Allegiant Air flights, two Delta Flights, two United Airlines Flights and one American Airlines flight.
The delays, seven arrivals and ten departures, include six Delta flights, six Southwest flights, four American Airlines flights and one United flight.
Want to get away? Sarasota Bradenton Airport added five new nonstop flights in 2024. See where they fly:
Sarasota Memorial Hospital impacted by Microsoft technology outage
Though Sarasota Memorial Hospital has also been impacted by the technology outage, "both Sarasota Memorial Hospital campuses and its network of outpatient offices and First Physician practices are open and operating on a regular schedule," said SMH spokesperson Kim Savage, in a statement.
"While some phones and software applications have been impacted by the Microsoft/CrowdStrike-related global network outage, the health system is using manual and backup systems to minimize any interruptions while Microsoft/CrowdStrike and our IT teams work to fully restore services."
High performer: See where Sarasota Memorial Hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report
What caused the global outage?
CrowdStrike, a U.S. firm that advertises being used by over half of Fortune 500 companies, said one of its recent content updates had a defect that impacted Microsoft's Windows Operating System, adding the incident was "not a security incident or cyberattack."
"The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," said a statement from CrowdStrike. The company's CEO, George Kurtz, apologized for the disruptions in an interview with NBC's Today. Microsoft, meanwhile, said "the underlying cause has been fixed," but residual impacts will affect some of its Microsoft 365 apps and services.
What can Microsoft customers do to fix problems on their computer?
(Cont...) To fix this, users may restore their Windows 365 Cloud PC to a known good state prior to the release of the update (July 19, 2024) as documented here:
Enterprise - https://t.co/uMhgKSTlb0
Business - https://t.co/UnsNVOHBM3— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024
Microsoft365 Status posted on X there is something customers with computer problems can do.
"We're aware of an issue with Windows 365 Cloud PCs caused by a recent update to CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor software.
"To fix this, users may restore their Windows 365 Cloud PC to a known good state prior to the release of the update (July 19, 2024) as documented here.
Why are flights from Florida delayed, canceled today?
Flights to and from Florida are among those affected around the world by a Microsoft outage caused by a recent update.
Microsoft 365 announced the issue was "caused by a recent update to CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor software."
According to FlightAware, as of 10:30 a.m., there have been more than 27,000 flight delays today and more than 2,700 cancellations.
Impact of outage at Orlando International Airport
Orlando International Airport said it "has experienced limited impact from the worldwide technology glitch that affected IT systems at several U.S. airlines.
"We have been informed that the airlines being impacted locally are gradually returning to normal operations. As of Friday morning this is the impact at MCO":
• Total delays within, into, or out of the United States today at MCO: 74• Total cancellations today at Orlando Intl: 65
MCO recommended recommend passengers:
Check with their airlines for the latest flight information
Allow extra time for check-in and baggage processing
Monitor our airport’s website and social media for updates
Global tech outage: Check on flight status at RSW in Fort Myers, Punta Gorda Airport
FrontierAir lifts ground stop as systems 'normalize'
Our systems are currently impacted by a Microsoft outage, which is also affecting other companies. During this time booking, check-in, access to your boarding pass, and some flights may be impacted. We appreciate your patience.
— Frontier Airlines (@FlyFrontier) July 19, 2024
Frontier Airlines posted a travel advisory on its website Thursday night, saying, "Frontier Airlines flight operations were impacted by a major Microsoft technical outage. This led to several flight cancellations and delays."
The airline offered customers whose flights were delayed by more than 3 hours or canceled one of the following options:
Rebooking at no extra charge
Flight cancellation with credit
Flight cancellation with refund
Around midnight, the airline said the ground stop had been lifted and "systems are gradually normalizing. We are in the process of resuming flight operations."
Spirit Airlines offering flexible travel during Microsoft outage
Spirit Airlines notified customers and posted on its website a flexible travel policy during the Microsoft outage.
The company noted the outage is affecting flights to all cities for travel dates July 19-20.
Customers who want to rebook their flights will have the fare difference waived through July 27.
Spirit also said customers can make changes to their reservations affected by this event by going to My Trips, or by calling the Spirit Reservations Center at 855-728-3555 to make flight changes.
Contact the airline by texting "Hello" to 48763 or WhatsApp directly at 855-728-3555.
What's happening at Florida airports?
A check around Florida airports via the Federal Aviation Administration's website shows the following message "Due to AIRLINE REQUEST, departure traffic destined to ALL airports will not be allowed to depart until at or after 11:00 UTC." (which would be 7 a.m. EDT).
Similar messages show departure times ranging from 12:00 UTC and 10:30 UTC.
Airports with the same or similar messages include:
Miami International Airport, MIA
Fort Lauderdale International Airport, FLL
Orlando International Airport, MCO
Tampa International Airport, TPA
"Spirit Airlines has passengers waiting outside terminal doors (at FLL) due to the worldwide outage," said Gianna Montesano, trending reporter with TCPalm.
"I'm hearing from passengers that Spirit employees are calling passengers up by flight so they can be manually administered boarding passes."
Contributors: Kim Hjelmgaard, Christopher Cann, Felecia Wellington Radel, Adrianna Rodriguez from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota flights canceled, hospital affected by Microsoft outage
