Pittsburgh International Airport travelers left frustrated amid long lines due to Microsoft outage
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - This morning's CrowdStrike outage wreaked havoc on systems worldwide. Pittsburgh International Airport was not immune to any of that -- and people trying to make their flights were frustrated.
Nick Pastella is supposed to get married next week. He and his fiancée, Ashley, were supposed to fly south this morning for the wedding – coming from Youngstown, Ohio.
The wedding is something they've put off for years.
"Every time we went to set a date for the wedding – something came up," Pastella said. "Something got in the way."
Something came up again today. The IT issues with Microsoft technology slowed many people down Friday morning. Pastella was preparing to fly Allegiant – when emotions eventually ran high.
"I got a marriage license to pick up," he said. "I have $600 for another hotel. We paid 500-some dollars just to get here."
Nikki Weiss was also planning to fly Allegiant with her party of eight. The airline workers told her and others they were only getting $100 dollars back.
She didn't hold back her frustration.
"I'm not leaving until I get refunded for all of my tickets," Weiss said. "I have 8 tickets at $456 each. I'm not leaving. $100 per ticket does not cut it."
Eventually, Weiss got a full refund.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines had relatively short lines this morning. Other airlines had long lines too – but people to help them out.
Communication was key on a day like this, but many Allegiant customers in Pittsburgh Friday morning say they had little to none.
"When I went up to talk to [Allegiant's manager], they were like, 'I have no idea,'" Pastella said. "I'm trying to find out exactly what's going on – and they only tell me limited information.' Well, if you're a supervisor, at least give him something to tell the people.
Plenty of people in Pittsburgh, nationwide and worldwide, are rethinking their options. Some were wondering if they should even drive to their destinations.
"You're losing all the money you're paid for your airfare, but you're losing a day at the beach also,"Tony Diulus from West Mifflin said. "Imma lose a day driving. I'm gonna lose any way I go."
Pastella and his fiancée are trying to stay positive. The end goal may be a bit away -- but he can envision it.
"Once I get there, it's 50 members of our families are gonna join together and just have a blast," he said.
