Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.
'Not a cyberattack': NYC services not affected by global Microsoft outage
NEW YORK (PIX11) – A worldwide Microsoft outage has left flights grounded and people unable to access their banks Friday morning, but New York City emergency services are running smoothly, officials said.
"This is not a cyberattack," Mayor Eric Adams said.
The outage happened when cybersecurity software Crowdstrike sent out an update that inadvertently sent systems offline.
New York City officials were aware of the outage at around 12:40 a.m. and convened 20 minutes later to assess the impact and minimize damage.
Adams and other city officials said that emergency operations, like 911, and hospitals aren't impacted by the outage. MTA services are running as usual.
"Everything is running as expected," officials said.
The FDNY isn't experiencing any significant operational impacts, but dispatchers and field units are communicating over department radios, officials said.
Port Authority also isn't affected by the outage, but many airlines are experiencing delays and cancellations.
"Air travelers are advised NOT to head to the airport unless their flight status is confirmed. Check the FAA site for updated airport status such as delay or cancellation numbers."
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
You may not be able to check for your train or bus status in New York City. The MTA announced on X that some customer services are temporarily offline due to the outage.
"Some MTA customer information systems are temporarily offline due to a worldwide technical outage. Train and bus service is unaffected. Please listen for announcements in your station, on your train, or on your bus."
MTA on X
If you're traveling into the city from New Jersey, you may not be able to buy a train ticket. Some ticket vending machines are down, according to NJ Transit.
The agency said it won't deny service to anyone unable to buy a ticket Friday morning.
If you plan to take the LIRR, arrival information, station announcements and platform signs are all offline. Train service isn't affected, the agency wrote on X.