VA DMV Offices Closed, Airport Delays Caused By Global Tech Outage

VIRGINIA — While Metro service was restored early Friday, Virginia air travelers face challenges with canceled or delayed flights after a global tech outage knocked some computer networks offline.

The tech glitch grounded flights, knocked banks and hospital systems offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack — and that a fix was on the way. The company said the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, according to national reports.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked Virginians to be patient in a statement on the outages:

“Amidst the global tech outages, overnight we have conducted an initial assessment to determine impacts across government agencies and departments for functionality. Critical health and safety systems, including 911 call systems and transportation infrastructure, are operational. However, airlines continue to experience significant disruptions. The assessment determined that government administrative functions are experiencing disruptions, and we are coordinating with local, regional and federal authorities and private sector critical infrastructure partners in order to reestablish normal operations. As a result of the administrative disturbances, Virginians may experience delays and we ask everyone to remain patient as we work to remedy and reestablish the high standards that Virginians deserve.”

Here are some local impacts:

DMV Offices

The Virginia DMV shared on social media that its services are hampered by the outage. Their message to customers: "Due to the global IT outage, DMV Customer Service Centers are closed. Online transactions are also unavailable. Stay tuned to our social media for updates. We appreciate your patience."

Airports

Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport both posted on social media that “multiple airlines are reporting system outages that are impacting flight operations” and that any passengers should check the status of their flights before heading to the airports.

According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, Reagan had about 100 delays and 44 cancellations as of 9 a.m. Friday. Dulles similarly at 9 a.m. had 37 cancellations and 100 delays.

BWI Marshall Airport also reported 115 delays and 11 cancellations in the morning.

Reagan Airport said: "All Delta flights are paused as we work through a vendor technology issue.

Any customers whose flights are impacted will be notified by Delta via the Fly Delta app and text message. Customers should use the Fly Delta app for updates."

Dulles Airport said: "Multiple airlines are reporting system outages that are impacting flight operations at Dulles and around the world. Please check with your airline for the latest flight status of your flight.

Metro

While the rail system is back on schedule, its website remained down as of 9 a.m. Friday.

In an updated post on X at 5:45 a.m. Friday, WMATA said all its Metrorail stations opened on time and service will be running as scheduled. The agency added that bus service is operating as scheduled and only five routes are experiencing delays unrelated to the outage.

Metro’s website and service alerts are down.

“This WMATA application or website is under maintenance and not available at this time,” a message displayed on its homepage said. “We apologize for any inconvenience as we work to improve our services.”

See related: Global Tech Outage Grounds Flights, Knocks Banks, Hospitals Offline

The Associated Press reported that "DownDectector, which tracks user-reported disruptions to internet services, recorded that airlines, payment platforms and online shopping websites across the world were affected — although the disruption appeared piecemeal and was apparently related to whether the companies used Microsoft cloud-based services.

The Associated Press contributed material to this report.