Worldwide tech outage causes flight delays, including in Spokane

Airports across the United States slowly descended into chaos Friday morning after a worldwide tech outage disrupted flights and stranded passengers.

More than 1,400 flights across the country were delayed and more than 350 others were canceled, according to FlightAware, a company that tracks flight information. Airports in the New York City and Chicago regions appeared to be hardest hit.

As the sun rose over the East Coast, at least five airlines — Allegiant Air, American, Delta, Spirit and United — had issued ground stops, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines,” the agency said in a statement. “Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved.”

It was unclear how long the ground stops were expected to last, but as of midmorning, operations were slowly resuming.

Many flights at Spokane International Airport were delayed, but planes were leaving and arriving to the airport. Only one flight has been cancelled from Spokane, a Delta flight to Atlanta, according to the airport’s flight tracker. 

American Airlines said in a statement on social media that it had safely reestablished its operation.

Delta issued a similar a statement saying that some flights had resumed. United Airlines warned customers that delays may linger throughout the day.

At Denver International Airport, large screens typically used to detail arrivals and departures were flashing blue error messages, leaving some passengers confused and uneasy about their travel plans.

Frank Tingley, 42, a data analyst, was among thousands of travelers stranded at that airport.

“I’m not good, actually,” he said, adding that he first noticed an issue when airport staff had difficulties scanning tickets for his flight to Boston Logan International Airport.

Tingley said he was initially allowed to board the plane but after further complications and delays, passengers deplaned.

“The general mood is that people are finding a quiet corner and just trying to hunker down,” he said.

At LaGuardia Airport in New York City, would-be travelers stuck with canceled flights sat on benches and the floor working their phones to see if they could book other flights.

Brazilian teens traveling together gathered next to a church group from Alabama as well as vacationers, who thought they were bound for the Caribbean. “I’ve never been affected by something like this before,” said Chris Ocejo, 29, a personal trainer from New York, who arrived with his mother, Patty, for an American Airlines flight to the Bahamas.

“Then they told us something had gone wrong with their cybersecurity and they were sending a lot of people home because the flights are all canceled,” Ocejo said. “We got on a waiting list to get another flight but we may just go home.”

Videos of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina showed extremely long lines with some travelers calling the airport a “zoo” and “madhouse.”