Many Lufthansa Flights Delayed or Cancelled Due to IT System Failure

Lufthansa, the German airline, recently experienced an IT system failure, disrupting their day-to-day operations. As a result, several flights were delayed or cancelled, stranding passengers at various airports.

According to a report published by Reuters, thousands of passengers were affected and were waiting to check in across Germany.

Lufthansa Issues Statement

Lufthansa Airlines tweeted that flight operations had been halted due to an IT system failure caused by construction work in Frankfurt, Germany. Domestic passengers in Germany were advised to book train tickets instead and apply for a refund.

Lufthansa has not stated when the flights will resume their regular schedule, but the team is working on a solution.

“Important information on flight disruption: As of this morning, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group are affected by an IT outage, caused by construction work in the Frankfurt region. Unfortunately, this has led to flight delays and cancellations. We are working on a solution swiftly. Until then, we ask all affected guests flying on domestic LH flights in Germany to book a train ticket and request a refund,” the tweets read.

⚠️Important information on flight disruption: As of this morning the airlines of the Lufthansa Group are affected by an IT outage, caused by construction work in the Frankfurt region. Unfortunately, this has led to flight delays and cancellations. We are working on –

— Lufthansa (@lufthansa) February 15, 2023

IT System Glitch at FAA

This is not the first time that a computer glitch has caused flight operations to be disrupted. A computer glitch at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all US flights last month. Thousands of flights were disrupted, and passengers were left stranded with no answers.

The US Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, tweeted;

“FAA has determined that the safety system affected by the overnight outage is fully restored, and the nationwide ground stop will be lifted effective immediately. I have directed an after-action process to determine root causes and recommend next steps.”

The cause of the glitch in the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system was later identified as a damaged database file.

The FAA’s official Twitter account posted an update that said, “We are continuing a thorough review to determine the root cause of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system outage. Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyber-attack.”

Bottomline

The recent IT system failure at Lufthansa underscores the airline industry’s vulnerability to technical glitches. Passengers can suffer significant inconvenience as a result of such disruptions, with missed appointments, business meetings, and other critical events caused by delayed or cancelled flights.

Although airlines and aviation authorities have protocols in place to deal with such incidents, they must focus on ensuring that their IT systems are properly maintained and updated in order to avoid future disruptions.