Airlines are slowly resuming operations Friday, after a global IT outage forced many flights at the Portland International Jetport to be delayed or canceled.
The crowds were beginning to dissipate by about 9:30 a.m., but there were still some signs of disruption. Many screens throughout the jetport that usually display digital ads or other information showed a blue error message instead.
Aruna Chakravartti had been visiting her son and grandchildren in Maine. She said her United flight to Washington, D.C. should be delayed by two or three hours.
"I guess the system is down, so they were unable to update us any way. I was told I'm on time, and I'm not," she said.
Chakravartti lamented that she could have spent the extra time with her grandchildren. And though updates from the airline were initially difficult to come by, she said the announcements came more frequently once she had arrived at the gate.
Jetport officials said airport systems are working, and that most Friday morning's disruptions were delayed flights as airlines worked to get their systems back online.
Portland International Jetport Director Paul Bradbury said a few flights have been canceled, but most airlines are resuming operations.
"Southwest was able to get their first flight out this morning with just an hour delay," Paul Bradbury, jetport executive director, said Friday morning. "Others had longer delays. But that's going to be based on the impact of this particular IT issue on their systems and the speed at which they can recover."
A few others, like Mary and Bernard Kirk's flight home to Minnesota, were canceled on Friday.
They said all other airlines are booked. They may be rescheduled on another Sun Country flight that leaves Portland Saturday, but the Kirks said they haven't been able to reach the airline all morning.
"We turned in our rental car, we have no hotel, we have no plans," said Mary Kirk.
"But Maine is a beautiful state," said Bernard Kirk with a laugh.
Airlines had nearly 6,000 tickets for sale leaving Portland on Friday, Bradbury said. July and August are the busiest months at the jetport. Friday's outage had been more disruptive than a winter storm, Bradbury added.
Some airlines reported residual delays into Friday afternoon. Services at banks and some municipal offices were also disrupted on Friday morning.
The city of Bangor had been temporarily unable to process registrations and other payments this morning, but services were restored.
