Summary
- Over 6,000 flights were canceled worldwide on Friday due to a global IT outage.
- More than 1,000 additional flights were canceled on Saturday as a result of the complications.
- The global IT outage significantly impacted Air France-KLM operations among other airlines.
On Friday, the world experienced an unprecedented global IT outage, with stores unable to process card payments and, more relevantly, thousands of flights delayed and canceled throughout the day.
A significant volume of flights were canceled.
According to data provided by aviation analytics firm Cirium, global air travel was disrupted on Friday, with 6,855 flights canceled worldwide, constituting 6.2% of the total scheduled flights.
To provide more specific information, in the UK alone, 207 departures were canceled, accounting for 6.7% of all the intended departures from the country, and 201 inbound flights did not operate.
Shifting to Saturday, by 10 am BST, the global aviation industry experienced 1,639 canceled flights, representing 1.58% of the day’s total scheduled flights. The impact was also notable in the UK, with 23 departures (approximately 0.9% of all planned UK departures) and 25 canceled inbound flights. This detailed information underscores air travel’s fluid and evolving nature, with cancelation statistics fluctuating daily.
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Many flights were also delayed.
One of Simple Flying’s journalists was impacted by the worldwide outage while traveling to the UK with Air France from CDG Airport in Paris, France. They reported that their flight experienced a nearly 3-hour delay caused by difficulties coordinating crew schedules and arranging buses to the remote stand.
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According to the French economics newspaper BFM Bourse, Air France-KLM stated on Friday that it was compelled to halt a significant portion of its flights owing to a widespread IT disruption. This disturbance had a global impact and affected the airline’s operations extensively. Here’s what they told the French media
“KLM, like other airlines and airports, has also been affected by the global IT outage, making it impossible to manage flights. This led to the group drastically downsising their operations for the day”
Air France individually told the media that its flight operations had been disrupted at specific stations due to a central computer breakdown affecting numerous companies worldwide. The airline stated that the issue does not affect flights that are already in progress. However, they did not provide specific details regarding the disruption that has impacted destinations.
Photo: Denver International Airport
According to BFM TV, a French continuous news channel, the Aéroports de Paris Group (ADP) has confirmed that the significant airports it operates, July 19arles de Gaulle and Orly, have not been affected by the recent blackout. However, the companies operating at Paris airports, including Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly, may encounter issues such as slower check-in times, delays, and temporary suspension of specific flight schedules.
