Local airports report cancellations as worldwide tech outage continues

The worldwide tech outage caused by a faulty software update is being felt locally.

Sarasota-Bradenton Airport

Sarasota-Bradenton Airport is reporting 15 cancellations, seven arrivals and eight departures, and 18 delays, eight arrivals and 10 departures.

Flights for multiple airlines like Delta, American Airlines, Southwest and United are currently showing delays up to seven hours, according to SRQ's departing flight status page.

Rick Piccolo, SRQ's CEO, said passengers should check for updates on their mobile app frequently, as the outage will continue to cause a ripple effect in delays through the weekend.

“People need to understand it’s going to take a couple days to rewire itself (flight system), because the cancellations will cascade through the system,” Piccolo said. "Seats are going to be filling up the next few days, because of people missing their flight today."

Punta Gorda Airport

The global outage is also affecting Punta Gorda Airport, who posted an alert that all morning departures for Friday were cancelled. PGA spokesperson Kaley Miller said the Allegiant website is still down with no confirmed time it might be fixed.

Passengers flying out of PGA should check the Arrivals/Departures page and social media for updates.

At 1:15 p.m., Miller had an update:

"Good news," she said. "Allegiant is now checking people in for the 2:44 departing flight to Stewart/ Newburgh. They are going through TSA screening so that should be the first flight out today. Hopefully, all the other flights will follow on time."

Sarasota Memorial Hospital

Sarasota Memorial Hospital is reporting virtually no effect from the worldwide tech outages, with its hospital campuses and First Physician practices open and operating on a regular schedule.

“While some phones and software applications have been impacted by the Microsoft/CrowdStrike-related global network outage, the health system is using manual and backup systems to minimize any interruptions while Microsoft/CrowdStrike and our IT teams work to fully restore services,” said Kim Savage, the SMH public information officer. “CrowdStrike reported that the issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed, and confirmed that it is not a security issue or cyberattack.”

PGT

PGT Industries, the largest private employer in Sarasota County, is reporting “minimal impact” to some customers via third-party vendors “but production systems are not affected,” said Tyler Stover, the senior communications and PR specialist with the company.

“We are staying in contact with our software vendors who are working to resolve the temporary impact, and our team is available for customers to reach out with any questions,” he said. “Our Business Technology Services team continues to actively monitor for any additional reported issues related to this outage that could affect regular operations and will provide any updates as they are received."

Charlotte County Government

Over in Charlotte County, public services remain unaffected by the Microsoft outages, according to Charlotte County PIO Brian Gleason.

"No public services have been impacted by the outage," Gleason said. "We had some staff computers affected, but it didn't affect patrons."

Sarasota County Government

Sarasota County libraries also remain operational.

"Libraries within Sarasota County have not reported any issues at this time, and county operations are normal," Sarasota County PIO Cole Washko said.

HCA Hospitals

The region's HCA hospitals reported they're not being directly affected by the outage and are working with their vendors regarding any issues they're facing.

"We do not expect the incident to impact our ability to provide care to our patients," said Julie Beatty, director of Communications and Community Engagement at HCA Florida Englewood Hospital, responding as well for HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital and HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.