Microsoft tech glitch: Passengers face delays as Friday's tech outage causes continued chaos
Airlines struggled on Saturday to contain the effects of Friday’s tech outage that had wrecked travel schedules around the world, delaying or stranding passengers and flight crews.
The outage forced over 250 cancellations in India, part of about 7,000 worldwide, leading to chaos at airports. While carriers said they were getting a grip on the situation, the ripple effects were still being felt on Saturday with India’s largest airline IndiGo cancelling around 90 flights. The disruptions were expected to have a cascading effect because airport landing slots and support staff are limited, even with crews working at full stretch.
“Regulations also limit how many hours crews can work at a stretch, including time spent waiting at airports. That can force airlines to find and assign other pilots and attendants to take over, leading to further delays,” an airline executive said. The outage, blamed on an errant software update, led to the collapse of Navitaire, the technology platform that’s used primarily by no-frills carriers to check in passengers.
Several other systems such as those employed to process refunds or the baggage reconciliation system which ensures that luggage is loaded onto the right plane were also affected, airline sources said.
Government officials said that airlines have been asked to provide compensation to passengers, according to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules, and not to regard this event as a force majeure. This means airlines have to provide alternative travel options at no
