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CBC on Air Canada virus

  • From: Fred Heutte
  • Date: Tue Aug 19 16:54:17 2003

http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ca_aircanada20030819

Web Posted   Aug 19 2003 01:36 PM MDT 

Air Canada hit by computer slowdown Calgary - A pair of computer
viruses is being blamed for major disruptions in airports across
North America Tuesday, including Calgary International.

Edmonton International was mostly unaffected.

Air Canada's self check-in kiosks were hit mid-morning, while
its other computers were slowed by the viruses leading to delays
for its passengers. In Calgary, passengers choked the concourse
Tuesday morning, while baggage was hand-checked and working
computers were shared. Brad Powers, who waited for more than an
hour to get checked in for his flight to Japan, said it was bad
timing for Air Canada, which has been battling slower service
because of layoffs and a virtual shut down of its North American
flights last week when the power blackout hit Toronto. Most
flights Tuesday were delayed by 25 minutes. The viruses,
offshoots of last weeks Blaster Worm virus, hit hundreds of
thousands of computers in Canada in the early morning, including
many of those at local hotels, hospitals and airports. The so-
called Blaster and White Hat viruses first hit unsuspecting
computer users Monday, and has since been spreading at a rapid
pace, computer experts say. "As of yesterday, it's affected
about 600,000 computers in North America that we know of," Phil
Bradley, of Computer Support Experts in Mississauga, said.