SC flights disrupted as widespread technology outage grounds planes, impedes global travel (2024)

Travelers arriving at Charleston International Airport on July 19 were met with lines that stretched dozens of people deep and wove through the terminal to as far as the gift shop — all victims of the computer glitch that froze travel worldwide.

Hundreds offrustrated and wary travelers stood in lines for hours, impacted by the globaltechnology outage that grounded flights in a massive disruption.

There was not much they could do.

West Ashley resident Siarra Edwards sat near the check-in kiosks, trying to get a refund from Delta after being told the ticket agent couldn’t help. She had purchased a last-minute flight to attend a funeral for her uncle in Florence, Ala. Her delayed flight out of Charleston would have had her missing her connection, but the next flight out was completely booked.

Edwards had been at the airport all morningtrying to reach airline customer service to no avail.

"I feel stuck. I mean, what are you supposed to do?" she said. “I have somewhere I need to be, but I don't want to end up stuck in another city."

The number of affected flights grew by the hour.On a busy day, Charleston can see more than 10,000 travelers passing through the security checkpoint, in addition to another 10,000 flying in — seeing more than six million travelers annually.

South Carolina’s largest airport, among others,put out a travel advisory urging people to check their flight status before heading to the airport. At around 3 p.m., CHS already had 123 delayed and 25 canceled flights, according to the airport's website.

The situation was similar in Greenville, Columbia and Myrtle Beach, as well as at the Savannah/Hilton Head airport just across the border in Georgia, each of which saw numerous delays and cancellations.

To add to the chaotic morning, the power at the Charleston airport flickered a few times, forcing some airline and car rental computers to reboot. Airport officials say the brief outages were aresult of a Dominion Energy issue and was unrelated to the larger software glitch.

With phone in-hand and luggage by her side, Chenelle Waring stood in line on-hold with customer service hoping to get on another flight. The Charleston resident was looking forward to her vacation in New Orleans. Since her departure was delayed until July 20, she would lose two of her planned three days there.

"It's frustrating," Waring said. "With the delays, I lose so much time there, if I can't get a sooner flight it's not worth it."

A half-hour later, Waring had only moved about a foot in the line.

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the ground stop orders for Delta and United airlines just before noon. Other airlines had followed suit in a self-imposed stop, but the damage had been done and delays continued.

Upstate

Tom Tyra, director of communications for Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, said his airport started experiencing computer problems at roughly 4 or 4:30 a.m. Flights at the airport typically begin departing at 5 a.m.

Flights began taking off again around 6:45 a.m., spokeswoman Tiffany Cherry said. It’s one of the busiest airports in the state, with more than 2.6 million passengers served annually.

As of 3 p.m., the airport had 28 delayed flights, according to the airport’s website. Cherry said there were nine canceled flights.

“It’s just one of those things where you come in and see a long line and think, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m gonna miss my flight,’ but then we explain to them there are no flights taking off," Tyra said.

He said passengers were very understanding and that airline staff were doing the best they could.

“We’ve all been in that situation where our computer is not working,” Tyra said.

He said airlines primarily wanted to make sure crews were able to communicate during flights and that everybody was in the right place at the right time before they let any planes take off.

By 8 a.m., nearly every airline was up and running at Greenville-Spartanburg.

“It will be an interesting travel day because, while we are up and going, people with connecting flights, it will be a little bit before they are all geared back,” Tyra said.

Hilton Head region

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport also experienced delays and cancellations due to the outage. The airport had 19 delayed and 11 canceled flights as of 3 p.m., according to the airport's website.

Passengers were lined up at kiosks trying to get refunds and change their flights.

Amy Woitkovich was watching the British Open in her Bluffton home when she learned about the tech outage from a relative in Wisconsin.

“I was very zen and my sister ruined it for me,” Woitkovich said.

By 10 a.m., her matching floral-print bags in tow, she waited to check in at the airport with Delta. Woitkovich’s flight to Atlanta, which was previously scheduled for 11:53 a.m., was delayed until 1:52 p.m. Her connecting flight to Wisconsin was unchanged, so she hoped for a second delay.

The long line ahead didn’t faze Woitkovich, who scoffed at the notion that this was the worst delay she has experienced.

“Not even close,” she said.

Bill and Diane Gibson had just finished their two-week trip in Hilton Head. They swam, ate and treated their grandchildren to a round at Harbour Town Golf Links.

The septuagenarian couple’s vacation glow started to fade when they walked into the airport and saw a crowd. First their flight to Akron-Canton, Ohio, was delayed, then it was canceled.

They sat in the airport’s glass atrium trying to find a new way home. Diane Gibson scribbled notes on an email she printed with their travel insurance, scrolling through flights on her phone.

The Gibsons initially planned to take a flight back to the Rust Belt, but they likely faced a connecting city— and a larger charge.

Beyond Savannah/Hilton Head International, the town of Bluffton reported that it was experiencing outages with some internal and public-facing applications.

City Manager Scott Marshall said Beaufort was operating normally. The county reported a few software access issues, though the impacts have been nominal.

"On the whole, we are up and running," said spokesperson Hannah Nichols.

Pee Dee/Grand Strand

Myrtle Beach International Airport said in a statement that numerous arrivals and departures were experiencing delays and cancellations because of the global outage.

"Flight operations are beginning to resume with some of the affected airlines but lingering impacts are likely to continue throughout the day," the release said.

As of 3 p.m., the airport has seen 30 delays and 10 cancellations, according to the airport's website. The airport serves 3.4 million passengers each year.

Horry County spokesman Thomas Bell said the outage had not affected other county operations.

Some travelers flying to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport with American Airlines were disappointed to see their flight was canceled when they arrived at Myrtle Beach International.

"We don't really know what's going on," said 23-year-old Noah Johnson, who was flying with two other friends. "Just hoping to figure things out soon."

Midlands

In Columbia, 21 flights had been delayed and eight canceled, as of 3 p.m., according to Flight Aware.

Last year, the airport saw a little over a million passengers come through its doors.

"We plan and prepare extensively throughout the year and modify our efforts when an incident occurs. Any time something like this happens, we respond immediately. … After, we evaluate to make sure we are being as effective and responsive as possible," said KimJamieson Crafton of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

Augusta Regional Airport also was impacted by the ground stop issued by the FAA, according to a news release.

Impacts beyond airports

Countries across the world faced similar delays and challenges across multiple networks and industries. The culprit of the widespread delays stemmed from a dependence on software from a handful of providers.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said the issue is an outage and not a security incident or cyberattack.

The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows and a fix has been deployed, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Hours after the problem was first detected, the disarray escalated, knocking banks, hospital systems, media outlets and other services offline internationally. Some billboards in New York City’s famous Times Square even went dark.

South Carolina industries were not as affected as some were globally.

Medical University of South Carolina officials said there was no direct impact to its systems as a result of the outage, but it had experienced some service disruptions associated with a small number of its third-party services.

The South Carolina Ports reported no impacts.

State-owned power and water utility Santee Cooper said its "My Energy Link" customer service app, which is administered by an outside, was affected by the CrowdStrike outage and wasn't available early Friday.

"Customers can still do business with us via other methods, and so far inquiries to our call center have been light," a spokeswoman said.

Mitchell Black, Spencer Donovan, Tony Kukulich, Anna Mitchell, Charles Perry, Hannah Wade, Samantha Winn, Tom Corwin and John McDermottcontributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed reporting.