Porter Airlines cancels flights until noon due to Microsoft outage

Toronto Pearson International Airport says a global technology outage that caused disruptions around the world early Friday morning could lead to flight delays and cancellations throughout the day.

It says the outage is causing tech disruptions to some airlines and that travellers should contact their airlines directly for specific flight information.

The issue grounded flights, knocked banks offline, and shut down media outlets on Friday, causing a massive disruption that affected companies and services worldwide.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport also confirmed that the global outage is disrupting some airlines and that flight delays and cancellations are possible. They asked travellers to contact airlines directly for information.

“Flights continue to arrive and depart at the airport. As of now, Air Canada, Westjet, Sunwing, and Flair operations have not been affected,” Toronto Pearson wrote on X. “We’re still seeing issues with major American airlines [Delta, American, United] as well as Porter Airlines. If you’re travelling or picking up loved ones this morning, please check the flight status with your airline.”

Porter Airlines announced it cancelled all flights until noon on Friday “due to third-party systems outages affecting global industries.”

“This applies to all areas of our website, mobile app, reservations, flight changes and inquiry systems… Passengers cannot be rebooked while systems are offline,” Porter’s website reads. “The rebooking process will take a period of time, with new flights confirmed over a number of days due to the high passenger volume.”

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike says the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

The issue affected Microsoft 365 apps and services, and escalating disruptions continued hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing it.

Tracking service FlightAware says there have been seven cancellations and 29 delays involving WestJet flights today, while Air Canada has seen three cancellations and 19 delays so far.