businesses worldwide

A global IT outage caused by a problematic update from CrowdStrike led millions of Windows computers to experience Blue Screen of Death errors, significantly disrupting airlines, hospitals, banks, and businesses worldwide. United, Delta, and American Airlines faced thousands of canceled flights, while Southwest Airlines remained operational due to its reliance on the outdated Windows 3.1 operating system, which has not been updated since 2001. This legacy system was unaffected by the CrowdStrike update, allowing Southwest to avoid similar disruptions. Additionally, Southwest uses Windows 95 for staff scheduling, which also escaped the update's impact. Despite its operational resilience, Southwest's operations were indirectly affected by disruptions at other airports, and there are concerns about the long-term viability of its outdated systems.