Redmond Airport, St. Charles report some, but apparently minimal impacts of global computer outage

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Redmond Airport and St. Charles Health System say they have seen some impacts, but apparently were spared the worst of Friday’s global computer outage affecting airports, hospitals and other businesses around the world.

Thousands of US flights were grounded Friday as a technical disaster hit businesses and government agencies worldwide, with impacts from canceled medical procedures to stranded passengers and disrupted 911 services.

CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm with Microsoft among its clients, said it was working with customers hit by "a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts." Microsoft said it was working with CrowdStrike and others to help customers bring their systems back online.

Redmond Airport Manager Zachary Bass told NewsChannel 21 Friday morning, “We had a few (flight) delays, and customers can expect some throughout the day, but no serious cancellations or issues.”

Travelers “need to keep checking with their airlines about their flights,” Bass added.

At midday, the airport website's arrivals and departures pages showed a few flights delayed, while others were on time.

St. Charles spokeswoman Alandra Johnson told us, "St. Charles does not use CrowdStrike and was not directly impacted by the bad patch issued that is affecting companies across the globe.

"However, some of our vendors do use that cybersecurity company and some services, like voice dictation and contracting software, have been affected," she added. 

"No patient data or electronic health records have been impacted," Johnson said, "and St. Charles continues to operate and provide patient care as usual."