Friday’s Microsoft outage canceled 70 flights at Salt Lake International

SALT LAKE CITY — The July 19 Microsoft outage left hundreds of travelers stuck or delayed on Friday.

Seventy flights leaving or arriving at the Salt Lake City International Airport were canceled. There were also several flights that faced delays. 

Associated Press reported that Friday’s outage caused many carriers to face grounded flights. The duration of the groundings varied by carrier. 

As travelers on the ground tried to contact airlines, they faced long hold times. Some even struggled to find alternatives as flights became overbooked. 

One of the many travelers impacted by the Microsoft outage was Sarah Jane Weaver, an editor for Deseret News. On Friday, she was attempting to travel to Paris ahead of the anticipated 2034 Olympic announcement. 

As she tried to contact Delta Airlines, she faced a long wait time. She said she wondered if she’d make it at all. 

Despite the delays, Weaver said that many people were very understanding.

“Most people have been very kind,” she said. “They understand that this is not anybody’s fault and they are just trying to work through it.”

Microsoft outage caused lingering delays

CrowdStrike, the company responsible for the outage, has since released an update to fix the problem that took out 8.6 million Windows computers. Mashable reported that IT systems impacted by the outage are still recovering. 

Associated Press reported that only Microsoft computers were impacted. The issue with the update was within the content for Windows-specific updates. 

According to CNN, flight cancellations have extended beyond the outage. Sunday saw the cancellation of 15,000 flights.

On Monday morning, FlightAware reported 1,398 cancellations nationwide. The number of cancellations related to Friday’s Microsoft outage is unknown. 

Mariah Maynes contributed to this report

Related: Microsoft users worldwide report widespread outages affecting banks, airlines and broadcasters