WAUKESHA — A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and government offices on Friday. In Waukesha the impact wasn’t as deeply felt.
Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed around the world, leading to long lines at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the heart of the summer travel season.
Emily Schultz, the owner of Magic Mom Travel in Waukesha, experienced an impact as one of her agents was stuck in Charlotte for 13 hours. She went to preview the Utopia of the Sea, a new Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Airlines are trying to tell those who have booked roundtrip flights that if they rent a car, they will cancel the second portion of their trip back home.
“She was just waiting until 5 a.m. when Avis Budget Rentals opened up so she could rent a car and drive back to Texas,” Schultz said.
Luckily, many of Schultz’s customers hadn’t planned on traveling until Saturday. Unfortunately, with big outages, there is a chain effect.
“If the flights are already full, they can’t fill up with the people who are at the airport and take someone off that already had tickets for the flight. It is sort of a chain reaction,” she said.
Schultz hopes there are extra flights or they can get some extra crews in.
“They are already dealing with a lot of flight issues. It isn’t great when these things happen,” she said.
Southwest cancelled over 10,000 flights nationwide after a winter storm disrupted the airline’s operation for days in 2023.
“Unfortunately, this is nothing new with our industry and something we are very familiar with,” she said.
She said it doesn’t make it any easier, especially for people traveling with children.
Legally the airline is required to get a person on the next available flight or book them with another airline and this is all listed on government websites. It was something implemented under this latest administration, according to Schultz.
“They are legally obligated to still get you somewhere. They can’t just say ‘oops, oh well that stinks.’ They do have to find you an alternative,” she said. This could mean busing a passenger to another airport or finding them a different airline.
Schultz said Southwest Airlines has a different technology and are not really impacted at the moment. She added their planes are pretty full right now.
She said the quickest form of action while at the airport is for the guest to speak with the customer service desk on-site. The customer service agent is at the airport and sees it happen in real time.
Schultz said if a person uses a travel agent, they would call on behalf of the customer if there isn’t a resolution. A travel agent advocates for the customer.
“This isn’t our (travel agents) first time so we know what to say. What is acceptable and what is not acceptable,” she said.
Schultz previously worked as a travel agent for eight years before she opened her own agency in 2022. Schultz enjoyed making new connections through servicing clients’ vacations. She recommends travel agents over third-party sites as there is personal service. Travel agents have the customer’s best interests and will advocate for them.
“We know what to do in these kinds of situations,” she said.
Schultz highly recommends travel insurance as it helps a traveler to be more protected.
“If you had a trip delay and you need to stay overnight somewhere and the airline for some reason is not giving you vouchers but if you need vouchers for meals you can get that taken care of. If you miss your connecting flight and you aren’t using that night at the hotel, it will cover the hotel stays and lost luggage,” she said.
