Microsoft outage disrupts several Pittsburgh-area businesses

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The global IT outage caused a mess in the Pittsburgh area on Friday. Between canceled flights and delays, air travel may have been the hardest hit.

Harold Lewis and his family were excited about their cruise out of Orlando. They made it through the long TSA lines and to the gate with plenty of time. They thought it was going to be a simple morning.

"We sat, and we saw the flight time come and go, and go, and go some more," Lewis said.

They learned their Spirit flight was canceled, and their new Southwest flight doesn't leave until 9 p.m. Friday.

"We will laugh about it 10 years from now," Lewis said while waiting for his flight.

The same could be said for Pittsburgh area native Derek McConnell.

After his flight was canceled because of weather Thursday night in Dallas, the outage on Friday morning forced him to have a connection in Philadelphia. He said he wouldn't be home in Columbus, Ohio, until at least 11 p.m.

"I imagine it's going to be like when Apollo 13 comes down and lands again. It's going to be so nice," McConnell said over Zoom.

It was not just the airlines that had problems.

Allegheny County also had some difficulties.

Some pools and golf courses were cash-only. It wasn't the surprise people wanted on this sunny day.

"I don't have any [cash] now, so hopefully, it's not cash-only," Tyler Richter said on his way into the Settlers Cabin Wave Pool. "I took off work to come swim, and I'm going to have to go to the ATM."

UPMC had it a little easier; less than 10% of their Windows-based devices were impacted, and no patient care was affected.

People looking for some quick cash with the Pennsylvania Lottery were out of luck, and the Pittsburgh Zoo was cash-only, too.

Point Park University computer science associate professor Jeffrey Seaman wonders if the problem was bigger than led on.

"From my experience, it's probably a lot more, and they're not going to tell us what that is," he told KDKA.

Even with all the issues, most people just took it in stride.

"Being on the ground and staying positive is the only way you can do it," Lewis said with a smile.

Seaman said this shouldn't have any impact on personal devices, but he is recommending people take a precautionary look at personal data in case any breaches formed as a result of the outage.