Flights at PHL canceled or delayed amid worldwide technology outage

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A global technology outage grounded flights and knocked banks offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world, including flights at Philadelphia International Airport.

Lines snacked around the Terminal D check-in area early Friday morning as many flights were canceled, leaving travelers stranded and frustrated. Passengers for United, Delta and Spirit airlines waited a long time to check in, if they could. As of 7 a.m., 54 flights in and out of Philadelphia were canceled.

Many passengers didn’t know their flights were affected until they arrived at the airport.

“We came up from Atlantic City at 5 o’clock in the morning to catch our flight and not gotten any word that we could have turned around and stayed in our hotel or something in advance. So now we’re sitting there in the airport,” said Tracy, who was supposed to fly back home to Denver.

Communication was also an issue. PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern said the big boards at the airport did not reflect new delays or cancelations. The timestamp was stuck at 1:02 a.m. for much of the morning.

“You don’t find out until you get up to the counter or they shout it,” Tracy added. “All the things on the wall that you normally count on to tell you what’s going on are still telling you everything is on time. I’m still getting text messages saying that my flight is on time.”