On 19 July 2024, a global IT failure disabled Windows systems used by airlines and airports, rapidly lengthening check-in queues. A passenger at Gatwick reported waiting more than three and a half hours while staff distributed water. At Palma de Mallorca, a family of five stood in line for three hours, and more than 5,000 flights were cancelled worldwide.
Aircraft could still exist on the runway, but passengers could not move when the information systems that verified them and linked their baggage stopped. In an automated airport, failure converted invisible processing time back into a line of bodies across the terminal floor. The queue measured dependence on software as much as passenger demand.