Internet outage latest | Airlines, businesses, border crossings hit by global tech disruption

Businesses and governments worldwide experienced hours-long disruptions Friday as a widespread technology outage affected services across industries. Flights were grounded and numerous hospitals, small businesses and government offices were disrupted.

At the heart of the massive disruption is CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm that provides software to scores of companies worldwide. The company says the problem occurred when it deployed a faulty update to computers running Microsoft Windows, noting that the issue behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

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DALLAS — Delta Air Lines and its regional affiliates canceled more than a quarter of their schedule on the East Coast by midafternoon Friday, aviation data provider Cirium said.

More than 1,100 flights for Delta and its affiliates have been canceled.

United and United Express had canceled more than 500 flights, or 12% of their schedule, and American Airlines’ network had canceled 450 flights, 7.5% of its schedule.

Southwest and Alaska do not use the CrowdStrike software that led to the global internet outages and had canceled fewer than a half-dozen flights each.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mayor Ted Wheeler declared an emergency Friday after more than half of the city’s computer systems were affected by the global internet outage.

Wheeler said during a news conference that while emergency services calls weren’t interrupted, dispatchers were having to manually track 911 calls with pen and paper for a few hours. He said 266 of the city’s 487 computer systems were affected.

States and local governments across the U.S. worked to resolve problems caused by the global internet outage.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said critical state IT systems that had suffered from the outage were fully operational by midafternoon.

In Alaska, the state court system repaired every computer workstation and server, completing the task within 12 hours.

“Thankfully, our Information Services team worked overnight repairing as much as possible to ensure that essential functions are operational and that hearings are able to go forward today,” Koford said in an email.

In Kansas, the outage temporarily blocked the public’s online access to court records because it affected servers for the judicial branch’s case management system, according to spokesperson Lisa Taylor. Servers were back up quickly by Friday afternoon — in sharp contrast to the weeks it took to resume online access to court records after a cyberattack in October.

But in other places, the recovery was slower.

Anthony Lewis, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, came to Norfolk County Superior Court outside Boston for a case, only to learn all cases on Friday were rescheduled.

“I drove all the way out here for nothing,” he said.

The White House says it is in regular contact with executives at CrowdStrike, which makes the software tied to the global internet outage. President Joe Biden is continuing to receive updates, officials said.

Federal agencies also are assessing the effects of the CrowdStrike outage on U.S. government operations, the White House said.

SAN DIEGO — People seeking to enter the U.S. from both the north and the south found that the border crossings were delayed by the internet outage.

The San Ysidro Port of Entry was gridlocked Friday morning with pedestrians waiting three hours to cross, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Even cars with people approved for a U.S. Customers and Border Protection “Trusted Traveler” program for low-risk passengers waited up to 90 minutes. The program, known as SENTRI, moves passengers more quickly through customs and passport control if they make an appointment for an interview and submit to a background check to travel through customs and passport control more quickly when they arrive in the U.S.

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System posted on X that some of its employees who live in Tijuana, Mexico, were unable to get to work Friday. The agency said the disruption may affect its service and encouraged riders to check for delays or detours.

Meanwhile, at the U.S.-Canada border, Windsor Police reported long delays at the crossings at the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor tunnel.

The dateline has been corrected to San Diego.

BERLIN — Airlines across the world reported disruptions to check-in systems and other issues that caused flights to be grounded or delayed.

German-based airline Eurowings, a budget subsidiary of Lufthansa, called on customers who were traveling inside Germany to book train tickets instead and submit them for reimbursement after it canceled German domestic flights and services to and from the United Kingdom.

At least 100 flights to and from Switzerland’s Zurich Airport were canceled Friday. Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport also saw flights canceled after being hit with the outage. Issues were also reported in the busy European hubs of Amsterdam and Rome.

France’s airport authority reported that some flights were temporarily suspended and there were check-in delays at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.

Thailand’s two largest airports reported being forced to check in passengers manually.

In South Korea, several low-cost airlines reported problems, triggering delays in passenger boardings at Incheon international Airport, the country’s biggest airport, airport officials said.

In Canada, Porter Airlines said it was canceling its flights for several hours because of the outage. Azul Airlines, a Brazilian low-cost airline, said its check-in systems were affected, causing occasional flight delays.

MINNEAPOLIS — Passengers across the U.S. found themselves facing a miserable experience Friday at some of the nation’s airports.

The FAA said the airlines United, American, Delta and Allegiant had all been grounded.

At the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Sarah Schafer was headed to Florida for her cousin’s 50th birthday party, an event that had been scheduled around her availability.

She had been waiting for almost three hours Friday with no indication of when and where her flight would be rebooked. With lines stretched back the entire of length of her terminal, she stood in line with an injured ankle and used a cane to prop herself up.

“I seem calm,” Schafer said. “But my angry side might come out.”

More than 70 flights were canceled by 7 a.m. at Los Angeles International Airport and passengers were stuck in hours-long waits to get through security or to try to rebook their flights, the Los Angeles Times reported.

At Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, many information screens, including those at boarding gates, continued to be stuck on the blue Windows “recovery” screen on Friday afternoon.

Health care providers across the U.S. and in Canada and England had their services disrupted by the global internet outage, though some systems saw little or no effect.

Harris Health System, which runs public hospitals and clinics in the Houston area, said it had to suspend hospital visits “until further notice” due to the outage. Elective hospital procedures were being canceled and rescheduled.

The outage affected records systems for Providence, a health system with 51 hospitals in Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington state.

The New York-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said it was pausing the start of any procedures that require anesthesia.

In New England, the outage led some hospitals to cancel appointments.

A spokesperson at Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, said the outage had resulted in all scheduled nonurgent surgeries, procedures and medical visits being canceled for Friday. Emergency departments remained open.

The 188-hospital HCA Healthcare system said it didn’t expect its ability to provide care to be affected, and in Los Angeles, the Cedars-Sinai Health System remained open and continued to provide care. The Cleveland Clinic also said patient care was not affected.

In Canada, University Health Network, one of that nation’s largest hospital networks, said clinical activity was continuing as scheduled, but some patients may experience delays.

Across the Atlantic, Britain’s National Health Service said there were problems at most doctors’ offices across England as the outage hit the appointment and patient record system used across the health service. The state-funded NHS treats the vast majority of people in the U.K.

The NHS said the 999 number used to call for emergency ambulances wasn’t affected.

People pining for a venti caramel macchiato or a grande frozen mango dragonfruit lemonade found Friday that they couldn’t order ahead from Starbucks online or with their cellphones Friday.

The coffee shop chain apologized for the problem and said it was serving customers in “a vast majority” of its stores and drive-thrus.

BOSTON — Courts in Massachusetts and New York saw their operations disrupted Friday by the global internet outage.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts judiciary said about half of its workstations were down while court transcription recording systems were not operating in a number of courthouses, resulting in delays in some court sessions.

Some court proceedings were also delayed in New York because of computer problems.

In Manhattan, a criminal court proceeding for Harvey Weinstein, who is charged with rape, started 90 minutes late because of disruptions to court and corrections computer systems.

In Southern California, Orange County Superior Court also reported technical issues.

AUSTIN, Texas — The internet outages forced Texas to close all of its driver’s license offices across the state, and New York’s Department of Motor Vehicles couldn’t process transactions online and in its offices Friday morning.

The Texas Department of Public Safety operates driver’s license offices in most of the state’s 254 counties. The agency issues, renews and updates driver licenses or state ID cards and provides driver education courses.

The department said in a statement that “there is no current estimate” on when the offices will reopen.

In New York, the DMV said that by Friday afternoon, some systems had been restored and that it could begin performing online transactions. However, some in-person services were still offline.

At least three of its DMV offices closed for the day because of the outage, according to the agency’s website.

Zackary Blaine, a 28-year-old living in the New York City suburbs, said he took Friday off work expecting to spend a chunk of the day at the DMV only to find security guards turning people away at the door of his local office.

“I’m not too stressed, but it’s kind of wild to think how much something like this impacts things,” Blaine said by phone later.

SAN FRANCISCO — The head of a nonprofit group that promotes building the internet says outages like the major one affecting Microsoft and causing problems across the globe will happen in the future because of “our world of complex, interconnected systems.”

“The important part is how we learn from them and how we improve the resilience of our systems, so that similar issues do not happen again,” Andrew Sullivan, CEO of the nonprofit Internet Society said Friday.

The outages disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world, but Sullivan said there was no loss of connectivity and data continued to flow.

“This was a failure of some systems using a specific operating system and a specific vendor’s management tools," he said. "Unfortunately, those systems were used widely and for many functions critical to people’s daily lives.”

Meanwhile, some cybersecurity experts are warning that organizations affected by the internet outage should be alert for scammers.

“Organizations should be aware and wary of that and making sure that when they’re talking about getting this problem remediated, that they’re talking to trusted organizations,” said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier. “Attackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this.”

The spelling of Andrew Sullivan's last name has been corrected.

SANTA ANA — Ports in Southern California saw some disruptions from the internet outage but still were operating.

Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, said four marine terminals experienced computer issues but resolved them with minimal disruption.

One of the Port of Los Angeles’ seven terminals had limited operations overnight, said spokesperson Phillip Sanfield.

“Basically, it’s been minimal impact overnight and we’re going to have to wait and see how these terminals come up over the next several hours,” Sanfield said.

SAO PAULO — Bradesco, one of the main banks in Brazil, notified its users via its app that digital services were unstable due to a global cyber outage, but its ATMs were working normally. Bradesco has over 100 million clients.

In South Africa, at least two major banks said they experienced service disruptions as customers complained they weren’t able to make payments using their bank cards at grocery stores and gas stations or use ATMs. Both said they were able to restore services hours later.

TOKYO — Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, western Japan, said the global system outage that started Friday will continue to affect ticket sales at the park over the weekend.

The park said its ticket booths sales will not be available Saturday and Sunday and asked visitors to purchase their tickets on the USJ official website or via designated ticket sales site Lawson Ticket. Park attractions aren't affected.

Officials in some U.S. states, including Alaska, Virginia and Iowa, warned of problems to 911 emergency call centers in their areas. Alaska State Troopers warned that many 911 and nonemergency call centers across the state weren't working correctly and shared alternate numbers.

In Virginia, the City of Fairfax Police Department said on social media that it was experiencing technical difficulties with its phone systems, including 911. The department shared a nonemergency number for callers and said 911 could still be used, but calls wouldn't go directly to the dispatch center.

The New Hampshire Emergency Services and Communications reported a temporary interruption to 911 calls early Friday, with the system fully restored several hours later, officials said. In Iowa, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office warned on social media that phone lines were down and 911 calls might be routed to neighboring counties, but emergency calls would be promptly redirected to the sheriff’s office.

In communities across California, police said they used cellphones to pull up maps and went back to “old-school” methods such as dispatching calls over radio and writing out police reports by hand.

“We just go back to people writing it down,” San Diego Sheriff’s Lt. Gavin Lanning told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It wasn’t as easy as normal.”

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The National Center for Cyber Security in Sri Lanka says four information technology companies in Sri Lanka have been affected because of the global outage.

Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which is known as Sri Lanka CERT, says that so far only four companies have informed them of being affected and the center attributed them to a problem with the cybersecurity platform CrowdStrike.

Charuka Damunupola, lead information security engineer at Sri Lanka CERT, says those companies were using CrowdStrike software and their systems “are in failure mode.”

BERLIN — A German regional grocery chain, Tegut, temporarily shut its 340 stores in the country Friday morning as the computer outage affected cash register systems.

By early afternoon, more than half of the stores were open again.

LONDON — The London Stock Exchange says it is experiencing disruptions from the technology outage that has created chaos around the globe.

The LSE says its regulatory news service was not working Friday morning, but the outage hadn't affected trading.

“We are currently experiencing a third party technical issue which is impacting some of our services,” a London Stock Exchange Group spokesperson said in a statement.

The exchange says it’s trying to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

LONDON — The chief executive of the cybersecurity company at the heart of a worldwide Microsoft outage says it is working to fix a defect sent out in a Windows update.

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on X. “The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”

Kurtz said there was a defect in a “single content update for Windows hosts.” Mac and Linux hosts weren't affected.

The company referred customers to its support portal for updates.

HELSINKI — Two pharmacy chains in Norway said they are having problems providing customers with their prescription medicine and are facing substantial connection delays because of the global network problems.

Several branches of the Apotek1 pharmacy have closed across Norway after being affected by IT issues, which also shut down the chain’s online sales, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported.

The Boots drugstore and pharmacy chain also ran into problems delivering products to clients in Norway. Boots said that “due to global network problems, you may experience challenges with ordering and possible delays in dispatches,” NTB reported.

PARIS — Paris Olympics organizers say some Olympic delegations’ arrivals, as well as the delivery of some uniforms and accreditations, have been delayed because of the outage.

The organizers said in a statement that ticketing and the torch relay haven't been affected.

“Our teams have been fully mobilized to ensure the continuity of operations at optimum levels,” organizers said.

WARSAW — Baltic Hub, a major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland, says it's battling problems resulting from the global system outage.

Their entry gates are temporarily closed and they have suspended business, the Baltic Hub said in a statement.

Travelers wait in line at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Friday, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Passengers wait on flights at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Friday, July 19, 2024, as a major internet outage disrupts flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Pedestrians walk by blacked out screens due to a global technology outage, in Times Square, Friday, July 19, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Cancelled and delayed flights are seen on a monitor at the Des Moines International Airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A passenger takes a nap inside a terminal at Harry Reid International Airport on Friday, July 19, 2024, after a faulty CrowdStrike update caused a major internet outage for computers running Microsoft Windows. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A patron walks out of a Starbucks at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Friday, July 19, 2024, in Phoenix. A global technology outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air after a faulty software update disrupted companies and services around the world and highlighted their dependence on just a handful of providers (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Shelly Suarez waits with her dog, Maxine, near the JetBlue counters at Reagan National Airport on Friday, July 19, 2024, in Arlington, Va. A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked banks and media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and other services on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Jenna Lyons rests her feet on her baggage while waiting in the ticketing area due to a flight delay at the Portland International Jetport on Friday, July 19, 2024. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via AP)

Flight boards show delayed or canceled flights at Minneapolis/St. Paul International airport after software issues delayed flights globally, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Bettcher)

A Crowdstrike office is shown in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Friday, July 19, 2024. An overnight outage was blamed on a software update that cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike sent to Microsoft computers of its corporate customers including many airlines. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

Tiffany McAllister and Andres Bernal try to rebook their flight to Iowa while at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Friday, July 19, 2024, as a major internet outage disrupts flights, banks, media outlets and companies across the world. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Customers wait in line at departure area for Spirit Airlines at LaGuardia Airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024 as a widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)

Passengers crowd the International flights departure terminal of Rome's Fiumicino airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, as many flights have been delayed or cancelled due to the worldwide internet outage. Microsoft says users worldwide may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services in a widespread outage. The cause, exact nature and scale of the outage was unclear. Microsoft appeared to suggest in its X posts that the situation was improving, but hours later, widespread outages were being reported by airlines around the world. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A plane takes off at the capital's Berlin Brandenburg Airport, in Schönefeld, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP)

Commuter disembark a Great Northern railway train at Hunt's Cross station in Liverpool, England, amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, broadcasters and banks, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Passengers crowd the International flights departure terminal of Rome's Fiumicino airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, as many flights have been delayed or cancelled due to the worldwide internet outage. Microsoft says users worldwide may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services in a widespread outage. The cause, exact nature and scale of the outage was unclear. Microsoft appeared to suggest in its X posts that the situation was improving, but hours later, widespread outages were being reported by airlines around the world. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024 as a widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)

Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport sleep in a jetway for a delayed United Airlines flight to Dulles International Airport due to a widespread global outage early Friday, July 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)

The logo of Microsoft is seen outside it's French headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris, Monday May 13, 2024. Microsoft users worldwide, including banks and airlines, reported widespread outages on Friday, July 19, 2024 hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to Microsoft 365 apps and services. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A traveler at Los Angeles International Airport sits in a jetway for a delayed United Airlines flight to Dulles International Airport due to a widespread global technology outage disrupting flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world, Friday, July 19, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)

Numerous passengers wait in front of a black display board at the capital's Berlin Brandenburg Airport, in Schönefeld, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024, after a widespread technology outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world. (Christoph Soeder/dpa via AP)

Passengers crowd the International flights departure terminal of Rome's Fiumicino airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, as many flights have been delayed or cancelled due to the worldwide internet outage. Microsoft says users worldwide may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services in a widespread outage. The cause, exact nature and scale of the outage was unclear. Microsoft appeared to suggest in its X posts that the situation was improving, but hours later, widespread outages were being reported by airlines around the world. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Passengers crowd the International flights departure terminal of Rome's Fiumicino airport, Friday, July 19, 2024, as many flights have been delayed or cancelled due to the worldwide internet outage. Microsoft says users worldwide may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services in a widespread outage. The cause, exact nature and scale of the outage was unclear. Microsoft appeared to suggest in its X posts that the situation was improving, but hours later, widespread outages were being reported by airlines around the world. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Passengers gather near check-in counters at Narita International Airport in Narita, east of Tokyo Friday, July 19, 2024, after a technology outage. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Kyodo News via AP)

Travelers wait in Terminal 1 for check-in at Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, Friday July 19, 2024. A widespread Microsoft outage disrupted flights, banks, media outlets and companies around the world on Friday. (Bodo Marks/dpa via AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

After an overnight flight from Rome, Francis was wheeled off the plane in his wheelchair and onto the tarmac for a welcoming ceremony under Jakarta’s perennial hazy, humid and polluted skies.

Two children wearing traditional clothes handed him a bouquet of vegetables, fruits, spices and flowers.

Francis planned to rest for the remainder of the day, given the rigors of an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. However, the Vatican said the 87-year-old pope would meet later Tuesday with a group of refugees, migrants and sick people at the Vatican residence in Jakarta.

His first full day of activities begins Wednesday with visits to the country’s political leaders and meetings with Indonesian clergy who are helping to fuel the growth of the Catholic Church in Asia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo welcomed the pope, saying in a broadcast statement that “Indonesia and the Vatican have the same commitment to fostering peace and brotherhood, as well as ensuring the welfare of humanity.”

The highlight of Francis’ first stop will be his participation Thursday in an interfaith meeting in Jakarta's iconic Istiqlal mosque with representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.

The mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, sits across a piazza from the capital’s main Catholic cathedral, Our Lady of Assumption, and the two are so close to each another that the Muslim call to prayer can be heard during Mass.

Their proximity is not coincidental, but strongly willed as a symbol of religious freedom and tolerance that is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution. The buildings are also linked by an underground “Tunnel of Friendship” which Francis will visit with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, before they sign a joint declaration.

While Francis will want to highlight Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance, the country's image as a moderate Muslim nation has been undermined by flare-ups of intolerance. In 2021, a militant Islamic couple blew themselves up outside a packed Catholic cathedral on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, injuring at least 20 people.

“We have no problem with the visit. He’s a guest and we will welcome him,” said Eldy, a 64-year-old retired government worker who uses one name and was out walking during a car-free day in Jakarta on Sunday. “He wants to visit our Istiqlal mosque, he can do it.”

Even though Catholics make up only 3% of Indonesia’s population, the sheer number of Indonesians -- 275 million -- makes the archipelago home to the third-largest Christian community in Asia, after the Philippines and China.

As a result, thousands are expected to throng to Francis’ events this week, which include a Mass on Thursday afternoon at Jakarta’s main stadium expected to draw some 60,000 people. City authorities have urged residents to work from home that day given roadblocks and crowds.

“It is a joy for our country, especially for us Catholics,” said Elisabeth Damanik, a 50-year-old housewife outside a packed Mass on Sunday at Our Lady of the Assumption. “Hopefully the pope’s visit can build religious tolerance in our beloved country of Indonesia.”

Care for the environment, conflict resolution and ethically minded economic development are the major themes for the trip, and Francis may touch on them during his main speech to Indonesian authorities on Wednesday.

Francis has made caring for the environment a hallmark of his pontificate and has often used his foreign visits to press his agenda on the need to care for God’s creation, prevent exploitation of its natural resources and protect poor people who are bearing the brunt of climate extremes and pollution.

In Jakarta, he will find a metropolis of 11.3 million people choking under gray clouds of air pollution caused by coal-fired power plants, vehicle exhaust, trash burning and factories. Jakarta’s air pollution regularly registers eight to nine times above World Health Organization limits.

“Indonesia has the worst air pollution in Southeast Asia,” said Piotr Jakubowski, an air pollution expert and co-founder of Indonesian air quality monitoring company Nafas. “The visit of the pope is great because it provides a sounding board ... from another, very well-respected world leader."

Residents, too, hope Francis will speak out about the issue.

“The pollution in Jakarta is at an alarming level. That’s why the presence of the pope can provide a benefit with the discussion of environmental issues,” said government worker Erik Sebastian Naibaho, 26.

Francis is the third pope to visit Indonesia after Pope Paul VI in 1970 and St. John Paul II in 1989. Their attention underscores Indonesia’s importance to the Vatican both in terms of Christian-Muslim dialogue and Catholic vocations, since it is home to the world’s largest seminary and produces hundreds of priests and other religious workers a year.

“Indonesia is trying to grow in the faith,” said Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, the archbishop of Jakarta whom Francis made a cardinal in 2019.

At a briefing last week, he said Francis wanted to express his appreciation for Indonesia’s interfaith tradition “and encourage this kind of brotherhood to continue to be maintained and developed.”

Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Helena Alves contributed from Jakarta.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pope Francis is welcomed by Indonesia's Minister for Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, center, soon after landing at Jakarta's International airport Soekarno Hatta, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world's largest Muslim population. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis leaves in a car soon after landing at Jakarta's International airport Soekarno Hatta, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world's largest Muslim population. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis on his wheelchair, holds his cap upon arrival during an official welcoming ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Pope Francis on his wheelchair, is welcomed as Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, center left, walks during an official welcoming ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Pope Francis is welcomed by Indonesia's Minister for Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, center, soon after landing at Jakarta's International airport Soekarno Hatta, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world's largest Muslim population. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People walk past a welcoming signboard for Pope Francis displayed at Jakarta Cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, ahead of his visit to Indonesia from Sept. 3-6. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

A man has his photo taken with a cutout of Pope Francis displayed at Jakarta Cathedral ahead of his visit to Indonesia from Sept. 3-6, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Muslim women chat as a large digital advertisement board with a welcoming message for Pope Francis is displayed on the facade of a building nearby in Jakarta, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, ahead of his visit to Indonesia from Sept. 3-6. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)