Global IT outage: Flight and airport hell after Microsoft computer carnage

19 July 2024 , 08:56

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Global IT outage: Flight and airport hell after Microsoft computer carnage

Social media users posting on social media with multiple airlines have complained of huge delays after a major IT issue grounded planes across the worlds, such as American Airlines

A global IT issue has grounded planes and wreaked havoc at airports after hitting computers around the world.

American Airlines delayed all flights on Friday due to communications issues, with passengers reporting the interruptions on social media. The major US-based carrier issued a ground stop notice early on Friday, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s status page. 

Technical problems caused by a Microsoft systems update disrupted transport, broadcasting and banking systems on a global scale on Friday, with the Sky News channel in the UK forced to go off-air.

Passengers with Australian airlines Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin have also reported delays. India has similarly been plagued by outages, with check-in systems impacted at major airports in Delhi and Mumbai. According to local reports, Akasa Air and SpiceJet have said that some of its online services will be temporarily unavailable, with other airlines have cited infrastructure issues from their software providers.

While American Airlines is yet to comment on the reports, people have taken to social media to report issues with their flights this morning, with other services seemingly impacted by technical issues. 

One passenger posting on X, formerly Twitter, said they were prevented from departing an airport with "no feedback" as to why their plane was grounded. They said: "We were about to depart from SFO and we are told all American airlines flights are grounded. With no other feedback." 

Another added: "This is a mess! We were told that all airplanes are grounded here at Charlotte Douglas because of an IT issue. Also said it is NATIONWIDE." A third passenger added: "Gotta love when you just want to get home and you have been sitting on the runway for an hour only to be told all the American Airlines systems are down." The Daily Mirror has contacted American Airlines for comment.

Microsoft said they were working to ’mitigate’ the mass IT issue on Friday morning. “Our services are still seeing continuous improvements while we continue to take mitigation actions,” it said on X this morning. “We still expect that users will continue to see gradual relief as we continue to mitigate the issue.” It comes amid reports of widespread IT outages affecting airlines, trains, broadcasters and banks.

Elizabeth Baker