DUE to a major IT outage, several flights in the country were canceled. 

As reported last Friday by Microsoft, a global tech failure caused major disruption across the globe, with multiple industries being highly affected. Aside from businesses and banks, one of the industries that is tremendously affected by the outage is the airlines. 

Major local airlines such as Cebu Pacific and AirAsia are just two of the airlines affected by the worldwide IT outage. 

Yesterday, Cebu Pacific issued an advisory regarding the system’s downtime. 

“Cebu Pacific advises its passengers that it is currently experiencing technical issues, reportedly related to technology provider CrowdStrike, which caused a global Microsoft system outage,” the airline said. 

The airline stated that the technical issue forced the company to handle the affected processes manually, causing delays in flights. In the meantime, Cebu Pacific ensured that they were working closely with their teams to make the disruptions diminish. 

“We are working closely with our teams to mitigate disruptions to our operations and will provide regular updates as the situation progresses. We appreciate your patience and understanding.” 

Likewise, AirAsia Philippines has also released a statement regarding the situation, disclosing that the global outage affecting Microsoft services was confirmed by its partner, Navitaire. 

“This outage is causing unexpected rebooting of machines, leading to some operational disruptions related to check-in processes and navigating the AirAsia MOVE app,” AirAsia Philippines communications and public affairs head Steve Dailisan said.

AirAsia Philippines added that Microsoft is currently investigating the issue and has escalated the matter internally while seeking external assistance to manage the situation effectively. 

“AirAsia Philippines is closely monitoring the situation and is in constant communication with Navitaire and Microsoft. Our top priority is to minimize any impact on our guests and ensure that all systems are restored to full functionality as soon as possible,”  Dailisan said.

“As this is a developing situation, guests are advised to visit @flyairasiaph social media platforms, the AirAsia newsroom, and AirAsia newsroom and through their registered mobile phones and email accounts for timely flight updates,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines spokesperson Cielo Villaluna stated that they are not affected by the global IT outage. 

List of flights affected 

As of 8:00 a.m., today, July 20, Cebu Pacific, CebGO, AirAsia, and United Airlines released a list of airlines that are affected by the global outage of IT systems. 

In total, there are 48 flights affected. 

Cebu Pacific (5J)

5J186/185 Manila – Incheon – Manila 

5J279/280 Manila – Denpasar – Manila 

5J931/932 Manila – Bangkok – Manila 

5J751/752 Manila – Ho Chi Minh – Manila 

5J310/311 Manila – Taipei – Manila 

5J678/679 Manila – Shanghai – Manila 

5J759/760 Manila – Jakarta – Manila 

5J746/747 Manila – Hanoi – Manila 

5J563/564 Manila – Cebu – Manila 

5J637/638 Manila – Puerto Princesa – Manila 

5J649/650 Manila – Tacloban – Manila 

5J383/384 Manila – Cagayan De Oro – Manila 

5J404/405 Manila – Laoag – Manila 

5J453/454 Manila – Iloilo – Manila 

5J703/704 Manila – Dipolog – Manila 

5J793/794 Manila – Butuan – Manila 

5J897/898 Manila – Caticlan – Manila 

5J966 Davao – Manila 

5J3954 Davao – Manila 

5J3958 Davao – Manila 

5J464 Iloilo – Manila 

CebGo (DG)

DG6193/6194 Manila – Legazpi – Manila

DG6497 Manila – Cebu 

Air Asia (Z2)

Z2759/760 Manila-Cebu-Manila

Z2306/307 Manila-Iloilo-Manila

Z2211/212 Manila-Caticlan-Manila

United Airlines

UA 190 Manila-San Francisco

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) reported the system issues affecting two local airlines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. 

In a statement last Friday, cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike confirmed that the Blue Screen of Deaths (BSODs) caused the system to crash on Microsoft’s Windows operating systems.

“A global cyber disruption is currently impacting critical services including flights, banking, and company operations in various countries such as Singapore, the United States, and Australia. This disruption, linked to Microsoft’s Windows, appears to be related to an issue with cybersecurity software from CrowdStrike.”  

MIAA is offering “Malasakit Kits,” to those who are affected by the flight delays while opening extended queues. 

Meanwhile, terminal managers are closely monitoring developments while offering assistance to affected passengers.