Global tech glitch disrupts flights, port traffic, some business operations

A widespread software problem early this morning temporarily took down the Long Beach Utilities Department website, disrupted systems at St. Mary Medical Center and halted departing flights from Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport and other airports.

The root of the issue appeared to be a defect in a software update sent by the cybersecurity CrowdStrike, according to multiple news reports.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said on X: “This is not a security incident or cyberattack.” He said it was a defective update for Windows computers that “has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”

But the glitch caused widespread headaches beyond just aviation, including backups of trucks at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, according to KNX and FOX11 .

The Port of Long Beach said four cargo terminals had “computer issues but were able to resolve the problems with minimal disruptions.”

Problems were reported across the globe, including at Berlin Airport in Germany, the London Stock Exchange, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom.

“Ground stops and delays will be intermittent at various airports as the airlines work through residual technology issues,” the FAA said this morning. “Contact the airlines for more information.”

The Los Angeles County Superior Court said it too was experiencing internet issues . Amtrak is reporting the outage prevented credit card transactions for its Pacific Surfliner service. Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPay payments can be used to complete online reservations.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said it is investigating the extent of the outage.

“We’re investigating an issue impacting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services,” Microsoft said in a statement released on social media Friday morning.

City News Service and editor Jeremiah Dobruck contributed to this report.

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