A widespread outage of Microsoft services caused by a faulty update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike grounded multiple airlines at D.C.-area airports Friday.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the phone systems for Fairfax, Virginia, including 911 dispatch, were also struck.
The defect affected only Windows users with updated CrowdStrike software. Some encountered the “blue screen of death” and entered into an unceasing cycle of restarts, Microsoft said on its website.
CrowdStrike said a fix for the issue has been deployed, but in the interim entities, including airlines, relying on Microsoft and CrowdStrike have been stymied by technical issues.
“The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines. Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops until the issue is resolved,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Delta Air Lines initially grounded all of its flights. Some resumed by 7:49 a.m., the air carrier said. American Airlines also reported issues, but said they were fixed by 5 a.m., while United Airlines said its operations at Dulles were affected.
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Some carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, had smooth sailing.
Thus far, there have been six cancellations for Delta flights, five for United and one for American at BWI, 22 for United and two for Delta at Dulles, and 14 for American, nine for Delta and four for United at Reagan National, according to tracking website FlightAware.
The WMATA said its rail stations opened on time and buses were operating as scheduled. The system’s website was back online by 9:30 a.m., with some residual delays for the MetroAccess paratransit service.
Meanwhile, Fairfax’s phones took a hit.
“We are experiencing technical difficulties with our phone systems to include 911. Please call Fairfax County nonemergency 703-691-2131 and they will contact us with the information. 911 can still be used. Please note that it will not go directly to our dispatch center,” the City of Fairfax Police Department posted on X.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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