The ‘blue screen’ error still haunts global passengers

More than 1,500 flights were canceled on the third day of the global software crash. Thousands of customers continue to be stranded at airports.

The blue screen error has not yet been completely fixed. Photo: BusinessPost.

The blue screen error that comes from the CrowdStrike update is still an obsession for many airline businesses and their customers. The patch was quickly rolled out, but the fix could not be completed soon because it had to be done manually on thousands of computers.

Persistent obsession

Data from the tracking website FlightAware shows that as of the evening of July 21 (US time), about 1,600 flights to or from the US have been canceled. The number of postponements reached 8,500 in the country. According to FlightAware’s statistics, more than 1,000 of the schedules with problems come from Delta Airlines.

Explaining the lingering problem, the company said it was working to recover from an external supplier’s technology failure, which led to delays and cancellations. The airline has been in direct contact with affected users, offering discount codes, travel deductions, and earning miles for the SkyMiles program.

Long queues at the airport after the blue screen incident. Photo: CNN.

In an update to customers, Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said the airline’s engineering teams are working to restore the system to work again. “Canceling a trip is always a last resort and something we don’t want,” the business leader shared.

According to FlightAware, airlines have canceled a total of more than 2,100 flights and another 21,000 have been delayed.

Industry experts told CNN that the problem is not limited to airports but extends to businesses, government agencies, health services, banks, and schools around the world. The cause of the disruption comes from a software upgrade released by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike for Microsoft Windows.

According to the US company, this issue affects about 8.5 million Windows devices.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized to customers and said the patch has been deployed. However, many technology experts insist that bringing the system back is a long process. Similar announcements were also made by airlines.

Even if the update is released, it is not a remedy for airline companies. David Kennedy, co-founder of cybersecurity firm Binary Defense, said the repair had to be done manually with thousands of computers. “It’s not as simple as restarting the device. There are a lot of complicated steps. There are not enough people at the airport to operate the technique,” David Kennedy said.

Currently, much of United Airlines’ system has recovered from the incident on July 19. However, some routes may still be delayed or canceled. According to FlightAware, United Airlines canceled more than 400 flights on Saturday and 200 on Sunday.

Major airlines such as American Airlines and Allegiant Air were also affected.

Miserable customers

The US Department of Transportation determined that the cause of the delay and cancellation was “controllable”. This means that the error arises from the airlines. In such cases, the business must comply with its service commitments to customers.

“Nobody seems to care about us. The children have to sleep on the floor,” tourist Anthony Augugliaro, who is stranded at the Atlanta airport (USA), told WSB. “Chaos, frustration, hunger,” Delta Airlines passenger Catalina Villarreal described the scene at the airport. This user has had 3 flights canceled.

Overcrowding at the airport continues. Photo: Business Standard.

Charlotte Yeh, a passenger at Boston Logan International Airport (USA), was stranded when her flight to Fort Lauderdale was canceled. She did not receive any notice to prepare, resulting in the missed father’s 96th birthday.

This situation is repeated for thousands of people when they have to crowd at airports, waiting for answers from aviation businesses.

“I should have been in California to attend my mother’s wedding,” Richard Whitfield, who lives in Pasco County, Florida, told CNN. He left home on Thursday and missed his connecting flight in Atlanta due to bad weather. The plane was delayed, forced to land to refuel in Tallahassee.

After reinstating the schedule on Friday, the trip was repeatedly postponed. This customer decided to cancel the flight and go home. However, Richard Whitfield and his relatives could not find any of them. They had to find a hotel next to the airport to stay without any support from the airline.