Global cyber outage leaves Myrtle Beach flights and passengers in limbo, disrupts some government services

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A worldwide cyber outage overnight left hundreds of passengers in long lines at Myrtle Beach International Airport and caused other disruptions across the U.S.

Numerous arriving and departing flights were either delayed or canceled entirely, according to the airport’s online flight-tracking page .

Airlines and airports in the United States and around the world reported problems, with some flights grounded. Retail outlets, banks, railway companies and hospitals in several parts of the world were also affected in what appeared to be an unprecedented internet disruption.

At Myrtle Beach International Airport early Friday afternoon, officials said most of the car rental companies that operate at the airport did not have any vehicles available to rent. Employees with Budget Car Rental told News13 that they did not have cars available before the outage because they are in the middle of their busy season and many cars were already reserved or in use.

Earlier on Friday, Spirit Airlines passenger Erica Watts told News13 that she was booked on a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She said airport officials told passengers no one would be flying out of MYR until after 11 a.m.

The airport’s online check-in and self-service kiosks were also disabled. Airlines spent the day logging passengers manually, slowing down the process.

“We feel stranded, can’t check in luggage, people are trying to decide if they should go home or stick around to see if flights will depart,” Watts said. “People are all standing in the lobby area.”

The airport released the following statement at about 9:30 a.m. Friday:

“A global IT outage has resulted in nationwide flight disruptions this morning, and as a result, various arriving and departing flights at Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) are experiencing delays and/or cancellations. As the morning progresses, flight operations are beginning to resume with some of the affected airlines, but lingering impacts are likely to continue throughout the day. Travelers flying out of MYR today are strongly encouraged to check their respective airline’s website or mobile app for any changes or updates to their flight status prior to arriving at the airport, and impacted travelers should contact their airline directly for itinerary changes or rebooking. ”

Equana Galloway-Bullard was among those stuck at the airport overnight because of the outage. She was scheduled to fly out at 6:30 p.m. to New Jersey on Frontier Airlines.

“At first, they told us it was IT issues, and so the first thing that came to my mind was is the system hacked,” she said.” Then, an hour later, they said it was the storm and then they were saying there were some technical issues on the plane so I don’t know what’s going on.”

After her flight was canceled, Galloway-Bullard said she rebooked a flight on American Airlines. However, it’s not scheduled to depart until Friday evening.”

“We never left,” she said. “We have been at the airport since last night. They didn’t accommodate us.”

Among the major U.S. airlines, Delta said shortly before 8 a.m. that it had resumed some flights after pausing its global flight schedule. The airline issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing on Friday.

In North Carolina, some services were interrupted at the Division of Motor Vehicles business services. Those included driver’s license offices and license plate agencies. The DMV, which has 115 driver’s license offices, said it will try to reach out to customers to reschedule appointments. The outage is also affecting some MyNCDMV.gov online services.

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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13 . He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook , X, formerly Twitter , and read more of his work here .

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