THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) reported that over 1,000 passengers at Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as Davao International Airport (DIA), were affected by a global Microsoft outage, disrupting operations of several airlines.
In a press release on Saturday, July 20, Caap stated that 1,400 passengers had to be rebooked due to the outage on Friday, July 19. By the next day, this number had decreased to 39 as of 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, with 87 passengers still stranded as of 7 a.m. that same day.
Caap noted that airport operations were “normalizing” on Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, Microsoft experienced technical issues that led to the outage. American cybersecurity technology firm CrowdStrike clarified that the outage was not caused by a cyberattack but by a software issue, which has since been identified and fixed, as reported by ABC News.
"We refer customers to the support portal for the latest updates and will continue to provide complete and continuous updates on our website. We further recommend organizations ensure they're communicating with CrowdStrike representatives through official channels. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure the security and stability of CrowdStrike customers," CrowdStrike chief executive officer George Kurtz told CNBC.
The outage affected airline operations globally, causing congestion at DIA and Ninoy Aquino International Airport, and delays at Bicol International Airport.
Carolaine Ang told SunStar Davao in an online interview that several passengers were “frustrated,” with some trying to catch their scheduled flights.
"Frustrated. Walang proper linya din kasi desperado na mga tao maka-bag drop kay ang uban flight na earlier than na-delay na or canceled kay dili na maapas (Frustrated. There were no proper lines because people were desperate to drop their bags. Some flights earlier than ours were already delayed or canceled)," said Ang, who arrived at the airport around 5 p.m. on Friday.
Airline companies such as Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines canceled some of their flights due to the outage.
Caap said they assisted affected passengers, including more seating, personnel at help desks, and medical teams on standby in the departure area. They also reminded passengers to avoid going to the airport if their flight is canceled.
SunStar Davao reached out to Caap-Davao area manager Rex Obcena regarding the incident, but he has not responded as of press time. RGL