Global IT problems plague eastern Ontario

A global tech outage that’s affecting various industries from hospitals and airlines to broadcasters is causing multiple problems in Ottawa.

The issue began after global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike said its Falcon Sensor software caused Microsoft Windows to crash — causing what’s colloquially known as “the blue screen of death.”

Here’s what’s affected and what’s still working in the nation’s capital.

Porter cancels flights

Porter Airlines announced it had cancelled all flights until at least 12 p.m. ET as the outages affect their systems.

Zach and Daniella Schowalter were set to travel to Boston from Ottawa Friday morning on a flight, which they found out was cancelled after arriving at the airport, despite being told they should have received an email notification.

They had to rebook with Air Canada and say they’re left feeling bewildered and frustrated.

People waiting at an airport.
Passengers line up near the Porter Airlines section of Ottawa’s Macdonald-Cartier International Airport during a global IT outage affecting multiple industries on Friday. Porter has cancelled all flights until at least 12 p.m. (Gabriel Le Marquand Perreault/Radio-Canada)

“I’m certainly confused and baffled, incredibly frustrated because now we don’t know what the next steps are going to be. It’s a frustrating position to be in because there’s no one that you can blame,” she said.

Zach Scholwalter expected passengers to get more frustrated as they continue to arrive at the airport.

“It’s not crazy yet because it’s early but I’m sure as people get here they’re going to get angry,” he said.

Via Rail, OC Transpo operating normally

Employees at Ottawa’s Via Rail station on Tremblay Road told CBC trains were running normally as of early Friday morning.

There appeared to be problems with the tap payment system on some OC Transpo buses, but the system was working on others as of Friday morning.

More to come.

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