LAX returning to normal after global tech outage

In the aftermath of a global technology outage that snarled flights, Los Angeles International Airport was beginning to return to normal Saturday, despite some continued delays.

As of Saturday afternoon, the tracking website FlightAware was reporting that for outgoing flights from LAX, more than 160 were delayed — 19% of the total at the time — and more than 50 outgoing flights had been canceled. For incoming flights, more than 190 had been delayed and more than 50 canceled.

“We are seeing some delays and a few cancellations as our airline partners continue to return to normal operations following the global technology issues, but overall headed into a much better day at LAX,” said Dae Levine, a spokesperson for Los Angeles World Airports.

“We look forward to helping our passengers get to their destinations smoothly and safely and we urge passengers to confirm flight information with their airlines before leaving for the airport,” Levine said.

Across the country, more than 7,000 flights were delayed Saturday and more than 1,800 had been canceled, according to FlightAware data posted as of Saturday afternoon.

The tech outage disrupted operations Friday not only at airports like LAX, but banks, healthcare systems and government agencies. It was the result of a defective update from CrowdStrike, a Texas company that provides cybersecurity software to a range of customers across the globe.

In a statement Friday, CrowdStrike founder and Chief Executive George Kurtz apologized and said the company had moved quickly to fix the issue, “allowing us to focus diligently on restoring customer systems as our highest priority.” The problem did not stem from a cyberattack, Kurtz said.

Beyond LAX, others were also continuing to grapple with the fallout. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center said in a statement Friday that although its facilities had remained open, “our teams will be working actively through the weekend as we continue to resolve remaining issues in preparation for the start of the work week.”

Kaiser Permanente likewise said that the outage had affected some of its systems, but its hospitals and offices remained open. In some situations, it said it had activated backup systems to secure access to medical records and prevent interruptions to patient care.

And the Providence healthcare system said Saturday morning that it “has been making steady progress bringing systems back online. Our efforts will continue throughout this weekend as we work to restore service levels back to normal as much as possible by Monday morning.” It urged people not to delay needed care.

In California correctional facilities, the system that enables incarcerated people to make and receive phone calls, which had been affected after the technological outage, was fully restored as of 10am Saturday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The California Department of Technology said Saturday that it had “diligently worked around the clock to restore state-managed systems affected by the CrowdStrike defect.”

“Currently, there are no disruptions to the state-managed systems that serve the residents of California,” deputy director of communications and stakeholder relations Monica Hernandez said in a statement.

“However we know the outage affected many services outside of our oversight, and that Californians may still be inconvenienced. The department will continue to monitor for future impacts.”

Hernandez also cautioned Californians that “during incidents like these, bad actors often try to exploit the situation. Please be extra vigilant against phishing and smishing attempts, and avoid clicking on links or opening documents from unknown senders.”

A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said Saturday that “911 systems, public safety communications, and life-saving critical infrastructure remain unaffected” following the outage.

As for the city of Los Angeles, there were “no changes to the capabilities of public safety services,” its city emergency management department said in a statement Saturday. CrowdStrike “is not standard software” for L.A. city departments, and “impacts were not widespread.”

“Almost all issues initially reported were resolved by the end of the day on Friday.”