Global tech outage: Milwaukee Mitchell Airport flights impacted
MILWAUKEE - A major internet outage affecting Microsoft is disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world – including at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport.
The cyber security software "Crowd Strike" did a routine update that had a glitch. It impacted Microsoft users. The glitch has since been fixed. But it is taking a lot of time for companies to get back on track.
The faulty update grounded flights, crashed computer systems and disrupted hospitals and banks. The widely-used software is meant to protect users against cyberattacks. It is important to note that this was not an attack.
Impact on airports
At Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport there were long lines of people who had either delayed or canceled flights. Many said their airline apps were not working – so they came to the airport to figure out the problems. Airport officials said do not do that, but rather get in touch with your airline first.
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"The best advice we have for anyone traveling is to stay in touch with your airline. If your flight is delayed or canceled, we recommend that you do not come to the airport," said Harold Mester, director of public affairs and marketing for Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. "Not all the airlines here at the airport, but many of the airlines here at Mitchell Airport were affected. So what it means is, for some airlines, they are not able to process passengers when they come to the airport to check in. Their systems are down. As a result, some flights have been delayed and possibly some cancelations."
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FOX6 News spoke with a cybersecurity expert based in Mequon. He said it is not the first time something like this has happened. But it is one of the largest.
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"There are small botched updates happening on small products, but on the major scale we see this every couple of years and this is one of the biggest ones in my memory," said Alex Hold, Hold Security.
Health system impact
FOX6 News spoke with the big health systems in the area. They said they are working to ensure there are minimal disruptions to patients. Ascension told FOX6 News it does not use Crowd Strike, but some third party systems they work with do. The good news – there have been no major disruptions with hospitals.
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Check the status of arriving and departing flights at Mitchell International Airport.
Reaction
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport
"There is currently a worldwide ground stop affecting some of the airlines serving MKE. Anyone flying today should check their flight status before leaving for the airport. If their flight is delayed or canceled, they should not come to the airport and should instead keep in touch with their airline for further information."
CrowdStrike
"CrowdStrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.
The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed. We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website.
We further recommend organizations ensure they’re communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.
Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers."
United Airlines
"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."
Delta Airlines
"Delta has paused its global flight schedule this morning due to a vendor technology issue that is impacting several airlines and businesses around the world. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to resume operations.
We apologize for the inconvenience as our teams continue work to resolve the issue."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.