Microsoft outage causes flight delays, cancellations at Chicago O'Hare, Midway airports
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A global Microsoft outage caused by a technical problem at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has forced airlines to cancel or delay hundreds of flights at O'Hare and Midway airports in Chicago.
According to the Chicago Department of Aviation, as of 11:15 a.m., a total of 205 flights have been canceled at O'Hare International Airport, and nine have been canceled at Midway International Airport.
Another 713 flights have been delayed at O'Hare, and 164 have been delayed at Midway.
A United Airlines spokesperson said, while they are now resuming some flights, they expect schedule disruptions to continue throughout the day on Friday. They are also offering waivers to customers who wish to change their travel plans.
But as they work to restore their systems, many planes are being held...at their departure airports.
Those flights that are already airborne will continue to their destinations.
American Airlines said a technical issue with a vendor did affect them, but they were able to re-establish their operations around 6 a.m.
One family visiting Chicago from France was planning to head to Washington D.C. for a few days before returning home to France, but their flight to D.C. has been canceled.
"We're not even sure to get on the next flight, because we have company tickets, so we're on standby, so we're just waiting," Marie Naamie said.
Airlines are urging travelers to keep a close eye on their websites and flight trackers before coming to the airport.