Historic IT Outage Disrupts Global Travel: 8.5 Million Devices Affected

A massive IT outage caused by a flawed software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike impacted 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices, leading to significant disruptions worldwide. The outage, which began late Thursday, affected major airports, stranding travelers and causing widespread delays and cancellations. By Sunday, over 1,500 U.S. flights were canceled and 8,500 delayed, with Delta and other airlines struggling to recover. Despite CrowdStrike deploying a fix, manual reboots are required at thousands of gates, prolonging the chaos.