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A passenger on a flight showed one of the effects of the current Microsoft computer outage.
On Friday, July 19, it was reported that cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued a flawed software update to Microsoft's Windows operating system, crashing and infecting computers with a “blue screen of death” that left users unable to reboot.
Because companies have computer systems run by Microsoft, this has led to flights being cancelled, television stations being shut down and some banks being unable to make payments.
According to FlightAware, the number of canceled flights, to or from the United States, has surpassed 2,500. The number of delays in the United States was more than 8,000 as of 3:45 p.m. ET. Delta has canceled at least 840 flights, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport currently has the most cancellations in the United States, with 304. FlightAware said more than 36,000 flights had been delayed globally, with total cancellations amounting to about 4,000.
While not all flights were cancelled, one person pointed out a change in their boarding pass. Akshay Kothari took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to show his boarding pass, which was filled out in blue pen.
“The Microsoft/CrowdStrike service outage has paralyzed most airports in India. I received my first handwritten boarding pass today,” he wrote alongside a photo of the boarding pass.
After posting, many people took to the comments to joke about how maybe some stocks should stay tech-free to avoid being in this situation again.
“Sometimes the traditional way is still the best when technology lets us down,” one comment read.
Another commenter agreed, writing: “A handwritten boarding pass sounds like a dream. Hopefully you won’t get a handwritten flight…”
“Today is the perfect day to celebrate the power of technology! It simplifies our lives and connects us to the world. Let’s declare it Technology Appreciation Day!” a third commenter noted.
A fourth comment read: “It’s fascinating to see how dependent we have become on technology. This service outage highlights the importance of backup systems and the resilience of human ingenuity.”
Other commentators thought the boarding pass should be treated as a historical document because of how rare it likely was.
“Congratulations. You must be the first of this generation to receive one of these,” one person commented on the post.
Another person noted in the comments section: “Save this, things like this become salable memories after decades…”
In X, CrowdStrike addressed the disruptionposting an announcement saying they had found a solution to the problem and specifically stated that it was not the result of a cyber attack.
“CrowdStrike is actively working with customers affected by a flaw discovered in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not affected,” wrote George Kurtz, the company’s president and CEO. “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been implemented.”
“We encourage customers to use the support portal for the latest updates and we will continue to provide ongoing, comprehensive updates on our website. Additionally, we encourage organizations to make sure to reach out to CrowdStrike representatives through official channels.”
“Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers.”
