Flights cancelled, N.L. health-care services disrupted due to global IT outage

A global tech outage is disrupting health care, flights and government services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The outage will affect the availability of some health-care services in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a statement from N.L. Health Services issued Friday morning.

Spokesperson Mikeala Etchegary said the outage is affecting IT services, including Meditech, the main system used to manage patient and finance information.

"N.L. Health Services has implemented contingency plans and is focused on the delivery of emergency care as we work with our global partners to resolve the outage," said Etchegary.

Shortly before 2 p.m. NT, N.L. Health Services announced Meditech was running as normal again.

Early Friday, Porter Airlines said it would be cancelling flights until 1:30 p.m. NT due to technology systems outages, and later extended the cancellations to 4:30 p.m.

PAL also issued a statement informing customers of network issues at airport counters and the company's reservation centre, though the company has not announced any flight cancellations.

According to a spokesperson, St. John's International Airport systems appear to otherwise be operating as normal, but the airport is monitoring the situation.

At the airport Friday morning, Kelly Kocsis was waiting for an afternoon flight after her morning flight to Toronto was cancelled.

"When we arrived this morning, they were handwriting our boarding passes, and didn't know what seats we were in, and handwriting our luggage, and I'm like, 'OK, if you're handwriting our luggage, I'm thinking that luggage might not make it to Toronto,' and I have lobsters in my luggage for supper tonight," she said.

WATCH | An extended vacation — Hear how these passengers have been impacted by cancelled flights: 

Porter passengers stuck in St. John’s are looking for alternative routes to get home

4 months ago

Duration 1:02

Porter Airlines cancelled flights until 1:30 p.m. NT Friday after a global tech outage of Crowdstrike cybersecurity software. Porter says it’s working on a plan for its passengers — meanwhile, other airlines around the world are also experiencing disruptions. The CBC’s Jessica Singer speaks with Porter passengers at St. John’s International Airport whose flights were cancelled.

Kocsis was able to get a bag of ice from the Tim Hortons outlet in the terminal to keep the lobster cold during the delay.

The outages stem from an issue with Falcon Sensor software, which is causing Microsoft Windows computers to crash and display a blue screen, known informally as the "blue screen of death," according to an alert from global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike.

The outage is also affecting provincial government digital platforms, according to a statement from the provincial department.

"The provincial government is presently working with its service providers to address the issue and will advise when things are back to normal," reads a statement from Digital Government and Service N.L. spokesperson Gina MacArthur.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.