Global IT outage impacting travel out of Philadelphia International Airport

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A wave of information technology outages swept across the globe overnight, upending operations at airports worldwide.

The trouble began with an update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

The outage is affecting computers running Microsoft Windows. It was not a security incident or cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which said a fix was on the way.

Still, the outage impacted millions of people and caused chaos at airports throughout the day Friday.

RELATED: CrowdStrike says widespread disruptions were not the result of security incident or cyberattack

The impact includes flights out of Philadelphia International Airport, where there was a lot of uncertainty as airlines scrambled to get caught up.

The impact could last for several days.

“It’ll be a long-lasting issue, throughout the weekend most likely. So definitely be patient and check in with your airline,” said airport spokesperson Heather Redfern.

By Friday afternoon all airlines were operational, but delays persisted.

“They are in recovery mode,” said Atif Saeed, CEO of Philadelphia Int’l Airport.

American Airlines says it is back to normal operations after earlier asking the FAA for a global ground stop on all flights amid global IT outages.

The airline said it has issued a travel waiver for customers.

United Airlines said some flights were resuming Friday morning, but customers should expect disruptions throughout the day.

Delta has resumed some flight departures as well, but also cautioned passengers about possible delays. Delta also said it is issuing travel waivers for all customers who have booked flights for Friday.

Allegiant, Frontier and Spirit have canceled their ground stops.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said there is no impact to its services.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a post on X that they are monitoring the technical issues impacting airlines. They are also reminding travelers that they have “flight rights,” which is a tool that is meant to help consumers navigate airlines’ responsibilities for passengers.

Delays caused by IT outage leave passengers frustrated

There were long lines full of frustrated passengers who were desperately trying to make it to their destinations.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this, that’s for sure,” said Katia Edquist of South Pennsville, New Jersey.

The global computer glitch started impacting Philadelphia International Airport late Thursday night.

Nan Hathaway and her husband are trying to get to Vancouver to board a Holland cruise.

She said they were trying to stay optimistic they’d make it on time.

“It’s going to go without us, that’s correct,” she said. “We are a little panicked.”

Pamela Alexander, of Southwest Philadelphia, has a vacation planned in Punta Cana.

“I’m trying to rebook, see if I can get on something else because I didn’t get the flex program for the hotel I’m staying at, so they’re taking all my money,” she said.

Spirit says they were unable to book anyone with their systems down.

“When I arrived, I was eventually given a manual boarding pass. They had to hand write it,” said Brian Mercke of Los Angeles.

Mercke says he wasn’t notified about a gate change, so he still missed his flight.

“I’m stranded here right now,” he said.