Sun Country Software Outage Grounds Flights, Delaying Passengers

Flyers aboard Sun Country Airlines are experiencing major delays, after a third-party software outage affected their schedule. Although they did not name the software in question, the airline says it also changing the schedule for “many other airlines worldwide.”

If you are flying aboard Sun Country Airlines today, July 1, 2021, expect some delays to your schedule. The company announced they are experiencing a “temporary third-party software application outage,” which is affecting flights and forcing them to stay at the gate longer.

Third-Party Software Application Reportedly Affecting “Many Other Airlines.”

The issue was first reported on Thursday, July 1, at around 7 a.m. Eastern Time. Without naming the software or how the issue was affecting flights, the carrier noted it had “the full attention of our entire operations team.” Forty-five minutes later, Sun Country updated their statement to note that all takeoffs would be delayed “until further notice.”

While Sun Country appears to be the only U.S.-based carrier affected by the outage, they may not be alone. The Minneapolis-based airline notes that the issues are also affecting “many other airlines worldwide,” without going into specifics.

[Update 1/4] Sun Country Airlines is experiencing a temporary third-party software application outage affecting all Sun Country flights, as well as the flights of many other airlines worldwide (cont…).

— Sun Country Airlines (@SunCountryAir) July 1, 2021

At 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, Sun Country noted they were working directly with the FAA to manually clear flights for takeoff, which will cause a ripple of delays throughout the system. They deferred all questions about “the cause of the disruption or the restoration of the system” to AIMS International. As a courtesy to flyers, the airline will waive change fees for any passenger scheduled today.

According to their website, AIMS International provides “a series of services in order to maximize airline performance and reduce costs.” Their services range from crew management and operations control to commercial planning and business aviation applications. The company has not issued a statement about the issues.

Although airline tracking website FlightAware is not reporting delays from Sun Country, many of their individual flights are showing up as late. The delays range from around one hour, to over 2 hours and 30 minutes late.

Software Meltdown Happens Ahead of Independence Day Weekend

The software meltdown couldn’t happen at a worse time for Sun Country and other carriers, as flyers are expected to cram airports for the Independence Day Holiday Weekend. Issues at American Airlines caused the carrier to cancel flights in July, while Southwest Airlines is offering double pay for those willing to take extra work.