It's Day three of the computer virus that hit Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Screens displaying flight arrivals, departures, and baggage claims are still blank, as those in charge huddle to figure it all out.
So what happened, and why is it taking so long to fix?
A Cleveland City Hall source says it was a deliberate act that not only shut down screens, but airport email, payroll, and record keeping. The FBI is involved because ransomware—a harmful software—was used to shut down the system.
The day-to-day operation of the airport is running just fine. Flights are arriving and departures are not experiencing any unusual delays. The same goes for security: It's business as usual for TSA.
Screens that went dark are said to be only a couple of years old. The mayor's office has called the hack an subsequent outage an isolated technical incident.
"[I] just can't believe it's that easy," one passenger said. "I just can't believe it would be that easy to bring an airport to its knees."
Investigators have no suspects nor a motive at this time. Airport officials are still scrambling to get all computers working again, under the direction of an acting IT manager.
Jeanne Simmonds, we're told, is a former airport construction inspector with little IT experience. However, we're also told she has an experienced staff of skilled and experienced IT employees.
An airport spokesman referred all calls to Mayor Frank G. Jackson's office. We reached out, but calls were not returned.
Naturally, for any questions about your flight, check with your airline or the Hopkins website.