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'A much better day' at LAX after delays, cancellations and chaos from global tech glitch

Passengers holding on to wheeled suitcases stand in a line behind blue tape. Some passengers carry backpacks.
Passengers line up outside the Delta terminal at LAX to rebook cancelled or delayed flights.
(
Yusra Farzan
/
LAist
)

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Los Angeles International Airport is expecting a "much better day" today after a global tech outage led to major flight delays and cancellations on Friday.

Since midnight, about 70 flights out of LAX have been canceled, with more than 160 delays, according to an LAX spokesperson, who said travelers should leave plenty of time to arrive at the airport for check in.

Black and blue flight information screens. White lettering on the black screen reads "No Signal" while the blue screens read "Recovery, It looks like Windows didn't load correctly."
Computer screens glitch at the Delta Terminal in LAX after a worldwide tech disruption.
(
Yusra Farzan
/
LAist
)

Airmageddon

The global tech outage was caused by a botched software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and affected computers running Microsoft's Windows operating system.

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At LAX on Friday, the glitch led to 72 cancellations and 166 delays, airport spokesperson told LAist.

On Friday morning, the United and Delta terminals at LAX saw lines snaking outside the doors as travelers tried to rebook their flights. Automated check in kiosks were worked sporadically throughout the morning.

Tony Spica was set to travel to Detroit for a family reunion with his wife and children. After his flight was canceled, he had been waiting in the line to rebook their flights for just over two hours.

"Kids are holding up pretty well. I've pulled out some activities and a tablet, so they're doing OK so far," he said.

People push luggage carts and roller suitcases while others sit on chairs looking at their phone with their luggage beside them. A man wearing a dark t-shirt carries a child wearing a green t-shirt.
People stand in line and wait for information at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Yusra Farzan
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LAist
)

Airport flight boards also went offline, adding to the confusion at LAX. Gina Garcia, who was traveling to Mexico, found out about the tech glitch once she arrived at the airport. She was asked to wait in a long line to find out the status of her flight.

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Children sit on the gray floor of an airport with a neck pillow beside them. An adult stands beside them wearing a denim jacket and using their phone. A child wearing an orange hoodie stands beside the adult.
A family waits to find out more information about their flight at LAX after a tech glitch grounded thousands of flights across the world.
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Yusra Farzan
/
LAist
)

Elizabeth Barajas was visiting from Tennessee with her two young children. She boarded her flight at 1 a.m. only to be deplaned 10 minutes later because of the technical glitch. By mid morning the snacks she had packed for her children for gone.

"We're trying to figure out what to do — maybe get a rental car to go and get something to eat because we have no access to the back, past TSA, to the restaurants," she said. "There's no vending machines, nothing here for them."

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