What We Know
- CrowdStrike software update caused a massive global outage due to it crashing Windows systems
- Airlines appear to be the hardest hit industry due to the outage
- All local airports reporting delays and cancellations due to the issue
- Other state and local agencies reporting little to no issue from the problem
While a massive IT outage has caused disruptions worldwide, impacting flights, banks, and other major institutions, it has not had a large-scale impact on most local and state agencies.
The outage was linked to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The company said the outage was not due to a security incident, but has been identified and a fix has been deployed.
Microsoft 365 said early Friday that services were starting to return to normal.
One of the industries most heavily impacted by this outage is the airline industry. The Federal Aviation Administration said multiple airlines requested assistance with ground stops for their fleets while the outage was being addressed.
According to FlightAware, more than 2,600 flights into, within, or out of the United States had been canceled, and more than 9,300 had been delayed.
The airline industry in the Tampa Bay area was dealing with the fallout from the outages as well.
Tampa International Airport said the global IT outage has impacted many of its flights. As of early Friday evening, the airport reported 51 cancellations and more than 260 delays.
TPA said its systems were not impacted and are functioning normally, as are the FAA, TSA, and CBP systems. Delta Airlines and American Airlines were two of the most impacted by Friday's outage.
For its part, Delta said it has issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing Friday.
"(The waiver) allows customers to manage their own travel changes via delta.com and the Fly Delta app," the airline said in a statement. "The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before July 24, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. If travel is rebooked after July 24, any difference in fare between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking."
St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport reported at least 60% of its arrivals and departures were canceled and asked travelers to contact their airlines for the latest updates. All services at the airport are operating without issue.
Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport also reported ongoing flight delays and cancellations through Friday evening.
Social Security said all offices were closed Friday because of the IT outage.
"Due to worldwide IT outage, local Social Security offices are closed to the public today. Longer wait times on our national 800 number are expected. Some online services are unavailable at this time. We appreciate your patience while we work to restore services as quickly as possible."
While some law enforcement agencies around the nation and the world have reported issues affecting 911 services, no local law enforcement agencies have reported any outages due to the worldwide IT problem. Some agencies said they moved to radios for some issues due to outages, but no services were impacted.
Statewide, Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders has been checking with multiple state agencies, and none that have responded have reported any impact from the outage. There are several he is still awaiting word from on their status.
Hospitals in some parts of the country also saw widespread problems from the global IT outage. Locally, Advent Health said the CrowdStrike issue impacted "some AdventHealth computers."
"A fix has been deployed, and systems are recovering," AdventHealth said in a statement. "We have protocols in place so when IT issues occur, we are still able to provide care for our communities."
Manatee Health told ABC Action News they experienced "minor service disruptions across several locations" due to the CrowdStrike issue.
"Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Operating Room, Cath Lab, Labor and Delivery, main campus Emergency Department, and Freestanding Emergency Departments in Bayshore Gardens and Sun City Center are all open and operating as normal," Manatee Health said in a statement. "Manatee Diagnostic Centers are closed Friday, July 19, and procedures are being rescheduled."
Tampa General said it had not been impacted by any issues and that its facilities "are open, accepting appointments, and providing care."
BayCare told ABC Action News that it had minor impacts during the night, but everything was resolved by early Friday morning.
Moffitt Cancer Center said it is not a CrowdStrike customer, and the global outage didn't impact patient safety or care. However, it did say some vendors it uses were impacted, "primarily on the business side."
HCA Healthcare also said it's health systems were "not directly impacted" by CrowdStrike's technology issue and we are working with our vendors to understand any issues they may be facing."
In the banking industry, Mid Florida Credit Union said its computer systems are down after the issues with CrowdStrike. Mid Florida Credit Union said they will do their work on carbon paper as a backup and then enter the information later into the computer system.
One business that has been impacted is Dick's Sporting Goods, which has closed some locations in the Tampa Bay region. This sign was outside the store in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
In the shipping industry, UPS said the CrowdStrike outage was impacting some computer systems, but their airline continues operating normally and drivers are on the road making deliveries. UPS didn't specify any specific time delays for customers.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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