Global computer glitch causes disruptions worldwide

A major IT glitch on Friday, linked to a software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike on Microsoft’s cloud services, continued to cause disruptions over the weekend.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport overnight Friday into Saturday as hundreds of flights were canceled. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines had canceled more than 400 flights worldwide as of Sunday morning, according to FlightAware.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, United canceled more than 200 flights Sunday morning.

WSB-TV reported that hotels were full and rental cars were sold out, stranding even more passengers inside the terminal. Some passengers complained that airlines were not paying for hotels or food during the crisis.

The outage also impacted local businesses, government offices and public services on Friday.

MARTA said its website, real-time service information, Breeze mobile app and online fare shopping were operating normally again Saturday afternoon after Friday’s outage.

Fulton County reported that vehicle license plates were unable to be processed and there were issues with property tax payments. Georgia Power’s website was unable to process payments. DeKalb County’s 911 system was also temporarily affected.

CrowdStrike confirmed that the outage was caused by a flaw in a single content update for Windows hosts. “This is not a security incident or cyberattack,” the company said. “The issue has been identified, isolated, and a fix has been deployed.”

Microsoft reported that it has resolved issues with its Azure service and Microsoft 365 Apps, although some services still experience residual impact.

This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.