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Southwest Airlines saved from CrowdStrike issues

by on22 July 2024


Because it is still on Windows 3.1

Most US flights are grounded following a CrowdStrike system update error, which is affecting everything from travel to mobile ordering at Starbucks—but not Southwest Airlines.

Southwest is still flying high, unaffected by the outage plaguing the world today, apparently because it's using Windows 3.1.

The company, along with UPS and FedEx, is still suing the 32-year-old operating system and has not had issues with the CrowdStrike outage.

Responding to CNN, Delta, American, Spirit, Frontier, United, and Allegiant all said they were having issues. Still, Southwest told the outlet that its operations are going off without a hitch. Some are attributing that to Windows 3.1.

Major portions of Southwest's systems are reportedly built on Windows 95 and Windows 3.1.

Southwest "would not confirm" that it's using Windows 3.1 but an airline analyst:

"We believe Southwest’s older technology kept it somewhat immune from the issues affecting other airlines today."

Things might have been even better if the company had not upgraded from its Benoist XIV flying boats (pictured).

Last modified on 22 July 2024
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