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Global Cyber Outage Grounds Multiple International Flights 

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A cyber update recently impacted computer systems internationally, causing flights all over the world to ground while broadcasters were taken off air and banking and healthcare services were affected. 

“An update to a product offered by global cyberscurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD.O), appeared to be the trigger, affecting customers using Microsoft’s (MSFT.O)Windows Operating System. Microsoft said later on Friday the issue had been fixed,” wrote Reuters.

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CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz stated on social media that the company was “actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts and that a fix was being deployed. This is not a security incident or cyberattack.”

American Airlines, Delta Airlines, and United Airlines grounded flights early on Friday as well as other international airports around the world, which also reported delays and disruptions. 

Banks and financial service companies in Australia, Germany, India, and beyond sent warnings to their customers regarding disruptions and issues relating to executing transactions. 

“We are having the mother of all global market outages,” one trader said according to Reuters. 

“Microsoft’s cloud unit Azure said it was aware of the issue that impacted virtual machines running Windows OS and the CrowdStrike Falcon agent getting stuck in a ‘restarting state,’ amid an ongoing global outage,” the publication wrote. 

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“We’re aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform. We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

CrowdStrike said in an alert its “‘Falcon Sensor’ software was causing Microsoft Windows to crash and display a blue screen.”

“Over half of Fortune 500 companies used CrowdStrike software,” the U.S. firm said.

“This is a very, very uncomfortable illustration of the fragility of the world’s core Internet infrastructure,” said Ciaran Martin, Professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and former head of the UK National Cyber Security Centre.

Some international airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, and India had to check in passengers manually over the cyber outage. 

While companies have been restoring their services, many analysts in different branches are calling this potentially one of the biggest cyber outages in the history of the industry and economy. 

“IT security tools are all designed to ensure that companies can continue to operate in the worst-case scenario of a data breach, so to be the root cause of a global IT outage is an unmitigated disaster,” said Ajay Unni, CEO of one of Australia’s largest cybersecurity services companies, StickmanCyber.

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Delta And United Airlines Will Permanently Remove International Change Fees 

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The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the travel industry in the US in more ways than one. Many major airline companies have begun implementing new policies to help cushion the economic blow that the tourism sector has suffered from within the past ten months of the pandemic. Most recently, Delta and United airlines have announced that they will be permanently eliminating change fees for flights across the globe. 

Throughout the entire pandemic airlines throughout the world and nation have recognized that there would be a major decline in travel, so they began eliminating fees that are typically charged to travelers who change their international flights or cancel them all together. Initially this was just a temporary move so that travelers wouldn’t have to worry about paying more money in the middle of a global health and economic crisis, however, Delta and United realized the elimination of these fees is actually a great thing for consumers and the airlines all together. 

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For Delta specifically, the airline will waive its $200 international change fee for any flight that “originates in the US or between the US, Mexico and the Caribbean going forward, including code-share flights,” according to the company’s announcement. Basic economic fares are excluded and according to Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian this elimination has proven to be extremely valuable.

“Our approach has always been to put people first, which is why we’re extending our current change fee waiver and making lasting changes to our practices, so customers have the trust and confidence they need long after the pandemic ends.”  

Delta is going to continue to charge $75 for same-day standby, but the airline is extending its Covid-19 policy waivers which removes change fees for all domestic and international tickets purchased through March 30th of this year. 

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United Airlines also recently announced that they would be eliminating change fees for international flights moving forward. For domestic flights, change fees will also be eliminated but only for flights booked before or on March 31st of this year. The airline wrote a statement in which they claimed that the decision was “made recognizing that flexibility is more important to our customers than ever.” 

United initially implemented the no-change fee policy back in August for all domestic flights which inspired a slew of other airlines in America to waive their flight change fees as well. American Airlines became the first US airline to get rid of change fees completely for all flights from North or South America and the airline has also eliminated their fee for domestic same-day standby.

American Airlines Chief Revenue Officer, Vasu Raja, recently released a statement regarding the choice, stating that the company is “committed to making travel easier for customers who fly on American.” 

It’s expected that other modes of transportation that make up the tourism sector for the US’s economy will also begin to implement policies and waivers of fees like these airlines at least in the beginning of the post-pandemic reopening of the country as a means of rebuilding what was lost within the past ten months.

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These International Borders Are Planning To Reopen This Month

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The Covid-19 pandemic is still very much a public health crisis, so many individuals are likely not going to be travelling anytime soon. However, many international borders have begun to/are projecting to reopen this month based on how badly they’re country is infected. Here’s an update on some of the international borders that are planning to potentially reopen this month:

The Canada and US border was projecting to reopen on June 21st, however, they’re now extending that date to go into July. Prior to this extension airlines in both the US and Canada began booking select routes to and from both countries. While non-essential travel is still banned between the US and Canada, essential trade is permissible between both countries. Canadians are also allowed to fly into the US but US citizens cannot fly into Canada. 

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The US and Mexico border is gearing up to reopen on June 22nd. Unessential travel has previously been banned, and Canada’s decision to extend their border closure may influence Mexico’s decision on whether or not to extend the date, however, for now they’re still projecting to open on the 22nd. An increase in Covid-19 cases in Arizona and Texas has also worried Mexican government officials. While Mexico isn’t planning on enforcing visitors to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, individuals should expect a personal interview and temperature checks. 

Travelling to the Caribbean is going to be dependent on what specific island you would go to. Each island has different opening dates based on how badly they’ve been impacted by Covid-19, however, a majority of the islands have managed to keep case numbers relatively low. 

The entire continent of South America is still under some of the strictest lockdown conditions in the world. Brazil lifted their internal travel ban in May, however, air travel into Brazil won’t be allowed until June 21st, and potentially later depending on if they extend the date or not. It’s important to note that even if the projected date for reopening is tomorrow, it’ll still be subject to change based on how many new cases continue to appear. Brazil alone has the second-highest recorded coronavirus death count, so the government in Latin America is projecting they won’t be able to fully reopen until September the earliest. 

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The United Kingdom was one of the last nations to ban international air travel in and out of the country when the pandemic began. Starting June 8th the UK began requiring that all visitors must self-quarantine for 14-days and provide housing/contact details to local authorities so they can ensure you’re abiding by the lockdown requirements. If one fails any of the requirements they could be subject to a fine of up to $1200. 

Travel between Europe and the US will likely not begin for a long time. Countries within Europe are gradually reopening the same way that states within America are also loosening their health and safety restrictions. However, as we’ve seen in America this premature reopening has led to a huge spike in cases in over 19 states. Some European nations, such as Germany and Ireland, are projecting to open by July, and Greece has already reopened to international travelers; however visitors are required to quarantine for 14 days and wear a mask in public. 

Australia and New Zealand are planning on waiving travel restrictions between each other, but not internationally. Australia will likely allow international visitors first, but require a 14-day quarantine like most places. 

In general, essential workers, trade, and business events would be the only reason one could travel internationally this summer. Every date is subject to change, and many have multiple times, so for now, if you want to be able to travel to any of these places without any Covid-19 fears we must continue to listen to our healthcare providers and protect ourselves and our loved ones.