Global flight chaos as Microsoft failure grounds Wizz Air flights
Due to Microsoft system failures, flights have been canceled. Wizz Air will refund customers 120% of the ticket costs in the form of WIZZ credits within 24 hours of the scheduled departure. You can also apply for a reservation change or request a refund using a different payment method.
12:13 PM EDT, July 20, 2024
On Friday, the Microsoft Windows operating system's global failure occurred due to a software update error by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. This caused global disruptions. Wizz Air will refund money to customers whose flights were canceled because of this incident in the form of rebooking for an alternative flight on the website.
The ticket booking and online check-in services are already available. WIZZ credits, available in the customer's account on the Wizz Air website, can be used to book a flight with the airline.
Suppose the traveler changes their reservation or prefers to receive a refund via the original payment method used to purchase the ticket. In that case, they can apply via the Wizz Air helpline and the official website.
Wizz Air confirmed that the systems are now operating correctly.
Global Microsoft system failure
The global failure affected many companies and institutions worldwide. Microsoft Poland's spokesperson, Anna Klimczuk, reported that two failures occurred simultaneously – one concerning Azure software, a cloud platform for managing applications and services, and another related to an antivirus software update by the external firm CrowdStrike.
A total of 1,390 flights were canceled around the world, according to data from the air traffic analysis firm Cirium. The most, 512, were in the United States. A total of 110,000 flights were scheduled for Friday.
