There have been long queues in the airport due to flight delays and cancellations due to global IT outage
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The world just experienced one of the largest software shutdowns in history, with airlines, banks, TV stations and even pubs and taxis feeling the effects.
Due to a CrowdStrike update to its Falcon security software, Windows operating systems across the globe stopped working, with many showing the ‘blue screen of death’.
Impact on airports worldwide
The IT outage had a major impact on airports and air travel, shutting down airline’s websites and online check-in processes.
On Friday, July 19, more than 45,000 flights were delayed worldwide, and more than 5,000 were cancelled.
As the world reacted to the Microsoft outage, Airlines began to warn passengers of the issues they were facing, and that their passengers would have to face too.
Airlines react
Ryanair announced on X, “We advise all passengers to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time.”
Veuling, a popular airline in Spain, released a similar message stating, “We inform you that due to a global com outer systems outage, our flight operations could be altered. We are working to minimise the impact on our clients.”
In India, their airlines were equally affected but they refused to stop operations, returning to manual methods of serving their passengers by handing out handwritten boarding passes to all their passengers.
Thousands cancelled or delayed
By midday Friday, July 19, thousands of flights had been cancelled and hundreds of thousands of people had been left stranded at airports, waiting without knowing when or if they would be able to fly to their desired destination.
Spain also suffered on Friday morning after the IT outage, however, many airports in the country and on the islands handled the situation quite well, running relatively smoothly under the conditions and returning to normal procedures as swiftly as possible.
Palma airport, with 997 scheduled flights for the day, was able to manage the chaos and maintain relatively smooth operations.
In Barcelona, by midday AENA released a statement stating their “airports were operating”, with some of the processes taking longer, which was “causing several delays”, but flights were slowly returned to their expected scheduled time.
After such a tumultuous day, and an unprecedented worldwide issue, many will be asking what compensation they are entitled to, and how they can get it.
What compensation am I entitled to?
Under European law, if a flight is delayed by more than three hours or cancelled entirely, the airline must offer the passenger another flight or give a full refund of the previously purchased ticket, sometimes including extra compensation.
If the flight is covered by UK law, the airline must give the passengers a choice between either a full refund or an alternative flight booked.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, “Under UK law, airlines must provide you with care and assistance if your flight is significantly delayed”. The law splits ‘significant delay’ into three categories;
For short-haul flights (under 1,500km), wait time must exceed more than two hours.
For medium-haul flights (1,500km), wait time must exceed more than three hours.
And for long-haul flights (over 3,500km), wait time must exceed more than four hours.
Bear in mind, that these are for flights to, from or within the UK and refer only to flights under UK law.
However, there are exceptions to this rule including weather conditions and security risks; any issues that are out of the airlines’ control.
Unusual circumstances
This is where yesterday’s global malfunction comes up, as it is such an anomaly, will airlines offer compensation to the passengers who faced extreme delays and cancellations yesterday?
Yesterday George Kurtz, the CEO of CrowdStrike, gave a public apology on American television, claiming his company was at fault for the Microsoft meltdown.
As blame has been taken, it will most likely mean CrowdStrike is solely liable for yesterday’s major issues in all industries, including airlines.
Compensation unlikely
Unfortunately, this means it is likely airlines will pass fault to the extraordinary circumstances that were beyond their control, and not offer compensation.
The Civil Aviation Authority explains that compensation “depends on what caused the delay”, and adds that “if it wasn’t the airline’s fault, don’t expect to receive any compensation”.
Anita Mendiratta, special advisor to the secretary general of UN tourism, told Euronews Travel that “if it is not the fault of the airline, compensation is unlikely”.
Stay alert this weekend
Although things seem to be returning to normality, and you will most likely not experience further problems at airports if you are flying this weekend, we advise you still check your airline’s website for more information, and understand what you are entitled to during these times.
If you do face issues, be advised to keep any documentation about your delay from the airline or airport, and any receipts you can, to help support you in your claims.
