UPDATE: Ottawa airport, Porter hit by fallout from Microsoft crash

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Ottawa International Airport urged travellers to check with airlines Friday as computer issues and cancellations followed a Microsoft cybersecurity operation failure overnight.

The company identified the problem source Friday morning, attributing it to an outage at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and a fault in its latest update, downing services tied to some Microsoft products.

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Ripple effects disrupted flights, essential federal services, and a local music festival.

Porter Airlines offline

Porter Airlines announced the cancellation of flights until early afternoon on July 19 due to the outage that disabled its web services, including reservations, flight changes, and the mobile app.

The airline noted that the rebooking process could be delayed due to high passenger volume, and its call centre agents are unable to access reservation or rebooking information, leading to extended wait times.

Some visitors to the Ottawa airport site encountered blocks, while others found outdated arrival and departure information.

Amid long lines and growing frustrations at Ottawa’s Macdonald-Cartier International Aiport late Friday morning, Cedric Allaby tried to take the slew of flight delays and cancellations in stride.

“I’m sure some people are anxious,” said Allaby, who was hoping to start a five-day vacation in Charlottetown, P.E.I. “I wouldn’t want to have a wedding or something major that was scheduled.”

Allaby first recognized something was awry while listening to France 24, a Paris-based TV network that focuses on international news.

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“That was the first I heard of it, that it was going on all around the world, and then I switched to the Canadian news,” he said.
Allaby then checked in with Porter, learning that all its systems were not operating, keeping flights grounded.

The first notice on the Porter website said that all flights would be cancelled until noon “due to prolonged third-party technology systems outages affecting multiple global industries. This applies to all areas of our website, mobile app, reservations, flight changes, and inquiry systems. Further delays and cancellations are possible.”

The message went on to say that “passengers cannot be re-booked while systems are offline.”

Despite all of the above, Allaby made his way to the airport, hoping that his early afternoon flight to Charlottetown would still be leaving.

When Porter agents at the airport updated the message saying all flights until at least 3 p.m. had also been cancelled, the mood was grim. The website was soon updated with the new information.

Some travellers opted to leave the airport immediately. Others lugged their bags around the third-floor departure area, looking for any available free space to try and wait out a delay and a backlog that could take days to resolve.

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Porter said all passengers will be re-booked on the next available flights and/or will be offered full refunds for problems caused by the cancellations.

“It not Porter’s fault,” Allaby said. “I mean, it would be different if it was West Jet and a strike or something.” A frequent traveller, he says he is accustomed to delays.

“I’ve flown quite a bit the last few days and there have been a lot of delays and it’s just part of air traffic,” he said. “But this is beyond even that.”

Federal services interrupted

Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson Jacqueline Roby said the federal agency experienced a “partial systems outage” of its telephone reporting system on Friday morning.

“Telephone reporting is a system primarily used by small aircraft passengers and boaters,” Roby said. The CBSA worked urgently with its partners and service providers to mitigate any delays and restore full service as quickly as possible.

“We are continuing to monitor further potential impacts,” Roby said. “No CBSA systems are affected at this time.”

Mirabella Salem, spokesperson for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission,
said the CRTC experienced “minor intermittent technical difficulties” with its Consumer Support phone and chat lines, which have since been resolved. “The CRTC will continue to monitor its systems and take action if needed,” Salem said.

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Meanwhile, Lisa Liu, a spokesperson for Canada Post, said the Crown corporation is assessing the situation across its network, noting that the effect on customers seems to be “minimal.”

“A small number of post offices across the country appear to be impacted and we are responding,” Liu said. “We continue to investigate.”

Music festival ticketing paused

Organizers of the Kemptville Live Music Festival started the third day of their festival unable to sell advance tickets because of the global tech meltdown.

General manager Karen Bedard described the ticketing fiasco as “horrible,” but said the system appeared to be back online by about 12:30 p.m.

Either way, tickets will be available at the gate.

Bedard also noted that Burton Cummings, the night’s headliner, had arrived a day early, avoiding the disruption of Friday’s cancelled flights.

The Can-rock legend is sharing the Friday night bill with folky blues siren Suzie Vinnick, singer-guitarist Keith Glass, and soulful R&B singer Avery Jane.

About 19,000 people are expected to attend the weekend festival, which runs until Sunday and takes place on the grounds of Kemptville College. There is no parking on site; instead, shuttle buses run from nearby lots.

Saturday’s performers include Dean Brody, Hello Darlins, and RedFox, while Sunday will be an 80s flashback, with Glass Tiger and the Headpins topping the program.

Media services rally

The CBC’s French-language service, said their operations around Quebec were slowed, although it reported a return to normal at about 7 a.m.

Microsoft says users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.

Microsoft said on X (formerly Twitter) that work is underway to fix the glitch.

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