On the evening of Wednesday, November 1, Turkish Airlines canceled all flights departing from Istanbul from Sabiha Gokcen Airport. The airline faced an unprecedented problem related to the collapse of the system, due to which there were disruptions in the ticketing and reservation processes. According to the Turkish publication Turizm Guncel, the canceled flights were supposed to take place from 19.00 to 22.00 on November 1, 2023.
“Due to problems in the network infrastructure, there are disruptions in ticket sales and booking processes. The necessary work is underway to resolve the issue and prevent our passengers from becoming victims. We apologize for the inconvenience,” the publication quotes the press service of the carrier.
According to Haber Aero, the problem was caused by the collapse of Turkish Airlines’ 45-year-old IBM Troy DCS infrastructure. This infrastructure includes mission-critical systems such as reservations, ticketing, weight control, and the pilot flight information system. The company claims that the system survived with the current fixes and adds that “foreign interference” may have been the cause, although there is no evidence of this.
The publication also quotes the general director of the carrier, Bilal Ekshi, who said on his social network that the malfunction was eliminated and flights began to operate. “Dear passengers, we are gradually putting our systems into operation. Our flights are gradually returning to normal. We aim to return to normal within hours. We thank you for your patience and understanding.”
In addition to thanks, tourists with tickets for November 1-2 were given additional rights to exchange and refund, provided that changes are made by November 7. A free internet service has been launched for passengers waiting at the airport.