Here's how the global IT outage is impacting airline and other operations in Toronto

The global IT outage that shocked and disrupted networks the world over is in the wee hours of Friday morning is now being called the biggest in history, and Toronto has not been immune to its effects.

Though it looks like Canada may be faring better than other parts of the world in the wake of the incident — which stems from cybersecurity company Crowdstrike and, by extension, Microsoft — there have still been major impacts, including to the airline industry.

Authorities have confirmed that the outage has not touched any NAV Canada systems, with Toronto Pearson International Airlines writing shortly before 7 a.m. that Air Canada, Westjet, Sunwing and Flair Airlines are all operating just fine.

But, because of issues with many international airlines, the hub has noted that "terminals are busier than normal" with some 135,000 passengers expected over the course of the day, including those who need to be reconnected from cancelled or delayed flights.

We are continuing to work with our airline partners as the global IT outage impacts some airlines.

Travellers may notice the terminals are busier than normal this morning as we anticipate connecting 135,000 passengers today.

Please direct inquiries about flight status to your… pic.twitter.com/wP2QkOpfsi

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) July 19, 2024

One Canadian airline that is struggling this morning is Toronto-based Porter, which has had to cancel all of its Friday flights until 12 p.m. "due to prolonged third-party technology systems outages affecting multiple global industries."

The brand's website and app are down, as are its reservation and rebooking capabilities. "Further delays and cancellations are possible," reads its interim homepage, which also adds that refunds will be issued, but that it will take a while for everything to get sorted out when things do come back online.

Porter is cancelling flights until 12 p.m. ET, for July 19, 2024, due to third-party systems outages affecting global industries. Visit https://t.co/1IdMdjaOrV for more information and updates. We're working to return service asap.

— Porter Airlines (@porterairlines) July 19, 2024

Because of how how hard U.S. networks have been hit, travellers heading to American destinations with Canadian airlines have had to deal with backlogs at the border, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection was apparently unable to properly process visitors.

U.S. airports are also dealing with tech disturbances as a result of the mess, which could interfere with flights to those hubs. As of 10:30 a.m., it looks like airlines are gradually resuming operations.

Update: We continue to restore systems impacted by the CrowdStrike outage. Clinical activity continues although some delays are possible. In instances where an appointment may need to be rescheduled, patients will be contacted by their care team. We appreciate your understanding.

— University Health Network (@UHN) July 19, 2024

In other sectors, it looks like some GTA hospitals are having minor problems that are leading to some delays and rescheduling for patients, but nothing too major.

Broadcasters like the CBC also had some earlier hiccups that were quickly resolved, and it looks like TD Bank is likewise working through some interruptions. Things like VIA rail, other Canadian banks and stock exchanges are functioning just fine.