PH Airports Hit by Global Cyber Outage, Causing Major Disruptions and Delays

Airports across the Philippines faced significant congestion and flight disruptions due to a global cyber outage that forced many procedures to be done manually. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 experienced particularly heavy delays, with families waiting for their flights late into Friday night, as reported by Katrina Son on “Saksi.”

Manual Procedures and Passenger Experiences

Airlines at NAIA have switched to manual processes at check-in counters. Passenger Jazz, bound for Bali, Indonesia, remarked, “They don’t know which gate we are supposed to go to. Everything is manual, the open gates are handwritten.”

Abigail, whose flight to Kalibo, Aklan was canceled, explained, “Our flight was canceled because there was a system error. So, they said it was beyond the control of Cebu Pacific.”

Response and Impact

To manage the growing crowds, NAIA deployed additional security personnel after local airlines Cebu Pacific and AirAsia were affected by the outage. Cebu Pacific also initiated manual check-ins in Davao City following two cancellations and several delayed flights, while Clark International Airport followed suit with manual check-ins.

Cebu Pacific announced several canceled domestic and international flights until Saturday. AirAsia reported issues with their check-in process, self-check-in kiosks, and mobile application due to the outage.

Global Impact

The cyber outage affected international airports worldwide. Airports in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, experienced system crashes, while passengers in Berlin, Germany, and Spain faced cancellations and delays. Similar disruptions were reported in Singapore, the Netherlands, Portugal, India, Dubai, and France.

Beyond airports, the outage impacted retailers, telecommunication companies, and media outlets globally. U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike identified the issue with their Falcon Sensor, causing Microsoft Windows Systems to crash. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz assured that the outage was not a security threat or cyber attack.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) continues to monitor the situation and confirmed they were unaffected, using a different cybersecurity provider.