BOISE, IDAHO — The Boise Airport released a notice to travelers on Friday, July 19 informing them that the major internet outage affecting Microsoft systems is causing issues with some airlines that fly out of BOI.
Amid the outage, the Federal Aviation Administration said that several airlines requested assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved. Many major airlines said they will offer travel vouchers this weekend, allowing passengers to adjust their itineraries without paying change fees.
Airport officials are reminding travelers to check with their airline directly to get the most up-to-date information on specific flight statuses as the IT issues continue.
Flight status for airlines can also be viewed on iflyboise.com. Currently, a 10:50 am flight to Los Angeles from Delta Airlines and an 11:20 am flight to Denver from United Airlines are showing delays on the site.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Global IT issues created long lines in Boise Airport Friday morning after several flights were canceled or delayed. I'm your neighborhood reporter Alexander Huddleston and I spoke with a few displaced travelers who say they have been here for hours.
Thursday night people around the world saw a massive IT shortage affecting airports, hospitals, and many other businesses. The cause? CrowdStrike; a cyber security software used by Microsoft. The software underwent an update that the company says in an official statement, “was impacted by a defect”.
"And you might think that developers might check this kind of stuff before it happens. It obviously affects so many people," said one worried traveler.
At the Boise Airport travelers were haulted by these issues as many airlines went dormant.
Another described his early morning saying, "When I got through TSA they said 6 am departure which was only 20 min later. Sat there. Every 15 minutes they would change it and they just kept moving it out and out. I don't know. They waited until 10 o’clock to tell us they weren’t going to have it. I've given up. Nothing I can do."
"The flight is supposed to leave in an hour. Based on this line I'm not sure that is a reality," went another.
Many airlines throughout the morning found back-door solutions. However, folks flying with Delta said that they had been waiting as long as 6 hours.
One flyer laughed saying, "Leave really early I guess. It's hard. You can't be prepared for something like this."
"I mean its not really their fault. It just happens. It's life I guess. So just rolling with the punches," shrugged another.
Folks here are saying that Delta agents have been working to prioritize passengers who still have flights on the way and pushing them up to the front of the line. As for others, many are canceling plans or having to catch flights with other airlines.
