Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The global technology outage led to travel, health care and business-related problems across the Buffalo-Niagara region early Friday.
Flights in and out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport were delayed and canceled early Friday, leaving passengers scrambling to change travel plans.
Scott from Depew was among the many travelers affected by the outage this morning, as he got to the airport early for an 8 a.m. ET flight to Chicago via American Airlines before heading to Fargo, N.D. for a high school reunion.
"Got here in plenty of time, I didn't have any idea what was going on until we got here. All the kiosks closed, lines all over the place. So we just stood in line, finally got to the front of the line and then she goes, 'Oh, by the way, we have to rebook that flight,'" said Scott with WBEN. "So then they sent us to another line that we've been standing in for almost two hours now. It's been an experience.
"There's nothing you can do about it. It's a worldwide thing, it's computers. They go bad, it's what happens. We just kind of learn to live with it. This is traveling worldwide today, it's just the way it is."
Mariah from Lockport was at the airport with her fiancé for a 7 a.m. ET flight for San Diego. She arrived at the airport at 6 a.m. ET when they heard the possibility of issues.
"We're supposed to be going to this yellow ribbon for the military in San Diego, it started today. We're supposed to be there by 11 a.m. PT, I don't think that's happening," said Mariah with WBEN.
"We got on to the shuttle once we parked, and we heard it on the radio that there may be some delays. Then we came, saw the really long line, and they're like, 'Our computers are down too.' So we're waiting, we're waiting, we finally get through. We get through TSA so quickly, in a matter of five minutes, which is unheard of. And we're sitting, waiting, we were supposed to be boarding at 6:25 a.m. That clearly didn't happen to go to Chicago, to the O'Hare Airport. And then I think an hour or two layover there and then head to San Diego. But, of course, it's not happening."
Kelly Khatib from the NFTA says they were "very lucky" to not have any major issues at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Friday morning, compared to some other major airports across the nation.
"We are seeing some more airlines' flights going out right now, so the best advice we have is to before you even leave the house to come here, make sure you're checking with your airlines," said Khatib with reporters on Friday morning. "We still are experiencing some delays, there have been about a handful of cancellations.
"Most of these things were things that were happening with individual airlines. So as individual airlines started coming back up, we were able to get them out as soon as possible."
CHECK : BNIA Arrivals/Departures
Khatib says when other major airports are having problems, especially with Friday's major outage, it creates a trickle down effect for other connecting airports.
"This isn't something that is just happening at our airport, this is global. Even if our airport is not having any major issues, it could be another one. It could be something in Charlotte, it could be something in Houston. So again, make sure that before you leave here, you're checking with your airline to see if you've been canceled or delayed," Khatib said.
Some other best practices to keep in mind when heading to the airport on Friday is if you are not checking in a bag, Khatib says to try and check-in at home. That way, it will help alleviate some of the lines when checking in with your airline.
Meanwhile, Khatib says there were no other major impacts to services at the airport, including security.
There were extremely long waits at Western New York's international border crossings. The Peace Bridge into the U.S. had a delay of over 90 minutes at one point Friday morning.
CHECK: NITTEC Border Crossings
Kaleida Health tells WBEN they were alerted to the outage during the overnight hours and implemented a computer down-time operation. "Really kind of going old school with pen and paper," Kaleida spokesman Mike Hughes tells us. "Patient care has not been impacted," Hughes added.
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center informs us of limited impact from the outage. "Roswell Park patient appointments, surgeries and procedures will proceed as planned today," a statement noted. "While Roswell Park is experiencing technology disruptions as a result of a global outage, care is not impacted. Patients should arrive to appointments as scheduled. We appreciate everyone’s patience, as there may be some delays in clinic operations as we work to bring all systems back up. We are grateful to our team for their quick response to these widespread issues."
Erie County reported some services were impacted as a result of the outage, mainly as a result of New York State systems being down for a time.
Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns told WBEN that all of their systems at the DMV were down. "We're an agent of the state, tied into the New York State system. We're open for people dropping off plates or anyone with questions, but we are not able to process any computerized transactions at this point."
He said it is impacting other Clerk's offices throughout the state.
Kearns expects DMV transactions to be available Saturday at the Eastern Hills Mall and Southgate Plaza locations.
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